Offshore Wind Farms NSW Pulled Back: A Win for Fishers and the Sea

Offshire wind farm

Commercial fishers across New South Wales are breathing a sigh of relief as major offshore wind projects proposed for Newcastle and the Illawarra have either been cancelled outright or put on indefinite hold. For those who make their living from the sea, this is more than just politics. The decision to pull back on offshore wind farms NSW is about protecting waters that feed families and supply communities with fresh, local seafood.

Newcastle Project Scrapped

The much-touted Novocastrian Offshore Wind Farm, once flagged as a $10 billion development off the Hunter coast, is no longer going ahead. Energy giant Equinor has walked away, leaving its partner Oceanex without the capacity to push forward. For local fishing crews, this is welcome news. The proposed wind zone overlapped with productive fishing grounds, areas that have supported prawn trawlers, trap fishers and line boats for generations.

Had the project proceeded, exclusion zones and construction activity could have pushed fishers out of their own waters. Now, those grounds remain open and accessible.

Offshore Wind Farms NSW: Illawarra Plans on Hold

Further south, in the Illawarra, offshore wind ambitions have stalled. BlueFloat Energy has asked the federal government to pause its feasibility licence application. Political uncertainty, fierce community resistance and unanswered questions about environmental impacts, including whale migration routes, have all contributed to the delay.

For Illawarra fishers, the pause means continued access to grounds that sustain their livelihoods and ensure local consumers can buy wild-caught seafood landed from Port Kembla and surrounding ports.

Why Fishers Opposed Offshore Wind

From the beginning, commercial fishers warned that large-scale offshore wind projects were incompatible with sustainable fishing. Concerns included:

• Loss of access: Turbine exclusion zones would lock fishers out of grounds they have worked for decades.

• Disruption to ecosystems: Piling, cabling and seabed disturbance posed risks to fish habitat and migration.

• Safety at sea: Navigating around turbine arrays in rough conditions is a hazard that cannot be dismissed.

• Food security: Every hectare lost to industrial energy projects reduces the capacity of fishers to supply Australian seafood.

• No clean-up obligations: Contracts and approvals had no binding requirements for decommissioning or cleaning up after turbines became inoperable. This raised the real prospect of rusting towers and abandoned cables left at sea, a permanent scar on the marine environment.

These concerns were too often brushed aside in the rush to fast-track renewables. Now, with projects faltering under their own weight, the voices of fishers have been vindicated.

A Chance to Refocus

Australia faces choices about how to meet its energy needs. But those choices cannot come at the expense of food production and maritime heritage. Offshore wind was sold as clean and green, yet for coastal communities it looked more like industrialisation of the sea.

The withdrawal of Equinor in the Hunter and the pause in the Illawarra give governments and industry a chance to reset. It is time to recognise that our oceans are not just empty space for development but working environments that already sustain jobs and deliver food.

Good News for Seafood Consumers

For the public, this means better prospects of continuing to enjoy local, wild-caught seafood from NSW waters. Fishers will keep supplying prawns, squid, snapper and more without having to dodge turbine towers, risk seabed damage, or compete with foreign energy corporations for access to the sea.

Final Word

The collapse and delay of these offshore wind projects is good news for commercial fishers, coastal communities and seafood lovers alike. Our seas should remain places of work, culture and nourishment, not sacrifice zones for speculative megaprojects, nor dumping grounds for industrial wreckage once the turbines stop turning.