NSW Ports has released concept plans for a offshore wind turbine assembly site in Port Kembla's outer harbour.
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The plans are artists' impressions of what a potential facility might look like.
Covering 40 hectares, the proposal brings forward by two decades plans to fill in a part of the outer harbour for berths and storage, as the site sits within the area covered by the pre-approved container terminal development application.
The NSW government approved the container terminal application a decade ago.
CEO of NSW Ports Marika Calfas said the plan was about laying the groundwork for the offshore wind farms proposed for the Illawarra coast.
"It's the port facility that allows the components for building the wind farms to all come together, be assembled, and then they float them offshore to their location," she said.
The proposal for the port facilities comes as $35 billion of proposed investment in offshore wind in the Illawarra awaits government regulatory approvals. In December, the NSW government released the draft declaration of the Illawarra Renewable Energy Zone, while the federal government is assessing the Pacific Ocean off the Illawarra as one of five priority areas for assessment.
These regulatory approvals create a tight timeframe for the first electrons to flow onshore by 2030, with NSW Ports expecting it would take up to five years for the assembly site to be built. This is why, Ms Calfas said, the port operator was launching the plan now, ahead of a final confirmation of what offshore wind farms go ahead.
"You actually need to progress the planning, the development of the port infrastructure now, so that it's ready for when the offshore wind development projects are ready to be implemented," she said.
"The port is a critical part of that enabling infrastructure to deliver offshore wind off the Illawarra. Without the port being ready, you can't deliver those projects."
Once up and running, the multi-berth facility could support multiple wind farm builders with the coordination and assembly of 100 metre tall wind towers. How many towers would pass through the facility and the number of jobs this would support depends on the final plans approved, but wind farm proponent Illawarra Offshore Wind estimates that 3000 workers will be needed to construct the turbines.
While the facility would be new for the port and the region, Port Kembla is no stranger to wind turbines, with components for onshore wind farms passing through the AAT terminal in Port Kembla's inner harbour.
However, with offshore wind turbines being an order of magnitude larger than their onshore brethren, a large, dedicated site is needed for the assembly of the mega structures. The diameter of the turbines blades is roughly 250 metres.
What this facility doesn't include is the manufacture of the components. With its investment in a plate and tube mill, BlueScope has indicated it is preparing to have the ability to manufacture wind turbine components locally.
Once assembled, a flotilla of tugboats will drag the floating turbines to be anchored 40 kilometres offshore.
With a second container terminal not expected to be needed in NSW until the 2040s, the offshore wind turbine facility would be able to be transitioned into a container terminal once construction of the turbines is complete, Ms Calfas said.
"What this allows is the development of that infrastructure for the container terminal to start earlier, use it for a very important intermediate purpose, and then transition it, in that 2045-ish period, to containers."
As project proponents await final government sign offs, the port facility is one more piece in the offshore wind puzzle.
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