The ACCC has granted urgent interim authorisation to allow renewable energy businesses to collaborate to resolve overlapping geographic areas in their applications for feasibility licences for the Gippsland and Hunter declared offshore electricity generation regions.
Interim authorisation commences immediately and will prevent delays in feasibility licence processes that are well advanced in the Gippsland and Hunter declared regions.
This application for authorisation, lodged by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) on 15 March 2024, relates to the granting of feasibility licences in any declared offshore electricity generation areas under the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021 and the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Regulations 2022.
Given the importance of supporting the development of renewable energy infrastructure and to address perceived risks by industry participants about their role in this licensing process, the ACCC has moved quickly to assess this request for interim authorisation.
The ACCC is now seeking submissions about DCCEEW’s substantive application for authorisation by 12 April 2024. Further information about DCCEEW’s application for authorisation, the reasons for the ACCC’s interim authorisation decision, and how to make a submission are available from the ACCC’s Authorisations public register.