Offshore wind developer pulls out of NZ amid seabed mining concerns

Spanish offshore wind developer BlueFloat Energy is cancelling plans for wind farms off the coast of Taranaki and Waikato, citing “key uncertainties” about the route to market and the competition for allocation of the seabed.
The move comes after a controversial seabed mining plan was revealed to be among the 149 projects listed in the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill.
Developers, including BlueFloat, have previously said the seabed mining project could shrink or completely eliminate the area available for offshore wind in South Taranaki, which is considered to have the country’s best wind resource.
“Following a global strategic review, BlueFloat Energy has taken the decision to cease the development of offshore wind projects in New Zealand. Going forward, BlueFloat Energy will be focusing its attention on the most advanced projects in its portfolio,” country manager Nathan Turner told Newsroom.
“BlueFloat Energy continues to believe that offshore wind offers a strategic opportunity for New Zealand, in terms of both decarbonisation and economic development. However, our decision to cease developments here reflects a number of key uncertainties about how the market for offshore wind will develop in the country – including both route to market and allocation of seabed.
“We encourage the New Zealand Government to continue its efforts to establish an enabling regulatory regime for offshore wind and to support the industry in overcoming these uncertainties.”
Labour Party energy spokesperson Megan Woods said the withdrawal of BlueFloat was “a huge loss for New Zealand”.
“Unfortunately, it’s not a surprise to me they’re making this decision. We’ve got a Government that has dragged its heels and put in the slow lane any work on what is needed to stimulate offshore wind in New Zealand.
“More than that, its decision to include the Trans-Tasman Resource [seabed mining] permit in its fast-track bill is a clear message to the offshore wind investment community that they are not seen as a priority in this country.”
BlueFloat was engaged in a joint venture with Kiwi firm Elemental Group to investigate building a one gigawatt offshore wind farm in the South Taranaki Bight and another farm off the coast of Waikato.
Earlier this year, the joint venture’s partnerships director Justine Gilliland said seabed mining directly threatened the viability of offshore wind.
“If it [the seabed mining permit] is in the same space, they’re not compatible; if it’s in adjacent areas there will still be some issues we’d need to work through,” she said.
BlueFloat also signed on to an open letter from the offshore wind industry to ministers raising concerns about the seabed mining project.
“The granting of a consent to seabed mining projects in the Taranaki Bight would significantly jeopardise any ongoing investment in South Taranaki offshore wind projects due to the long-term technical and consenting constraints that would result from seabed mining potentially going ahead,” that letter stated.
“Offshore wind projects are long-term investments which require significant de-risking through their development phase. With the material risks that potential seabed mining would create, offshore wind investor confidence would be substantially impacted by the granting of approvals to seabed mining activity in South Taranaki.”
Despite this, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon earlier this month encouraged offshore wind developers and Trans-Tasman Resources Limited “to get together and work out how they can coexist”.
Woods said there was nowhere in the world where the two industries coexisted.
“It’s a fiction, it’s a fairy tale and it’s a front for the fact that this Government has shown no evidence that they have any desire to attract billions of dollars of international investment in a form of renewable energy that is less intermittent than onshore wind and less intermittent than solar,” she said.
“This is absolute dereliction of duty by this Government. They are putting New Zealanders’ security and New Zealanders’ future at risk.”
In addition to the seabed mining project, delays in setting new regulations to enable offshore wind have also stymied the industry. Newsroom reported in May that the Government would fail to meet an election promise to have the regulations in effect within a year. Instead, they won’t be finalised until mid-2025 at the earliest.
Newsroom has reached out to Energy Minister Simeon Brown for comment and will update this article with his response.