Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Regulations now available
The Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Regulations 2022 and the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure (Regulatory Levies) Regulations 2022 that underpin the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021 are now available.
These are the first of several sets of regulations and include arrangements for licensing, spatial referencing, treatment of pre-existing infrastructure and fees and levies. The regulations provide increased investment and regulatory certainty for persons seeking to develop offshore renewable energy projects in Australia.
Further guidance on the licensing scheme and regulatory requirements will be available on the Department of Climate Change, Energy the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) website in the coming weeks.
The Offshore Electricity Infrastructure framework will be administered by the Offshore Infrastructure Regulator (OIR), the Offshore Infrastructure Registrar, and DCCEEW on a fully cost recovery basis. Information about the arrangements for cost recovery, including financial modelling and assumptions that underpin fees and levies is available in the Cost Recovery Implementation Statement (CRIS).
The next set of regulations necessary to operationalise the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure framework are currently under development and include arrangements for management plans, financial security, safety and protection zones, and work health and safety.
The OIR is providing technical and regulatory advice to DCCEEW to support the development of these regulations with stakeholder consultation expected to occur in early 2023.
The OIR looks forward to working with government, industry and community stakeholders as the new framework is implemented.
More information about the offshore electricity infrastructure regime is available here.