Policy implications for offshore renewable energy in Australia: An MSP approach supporting the energy transition

In response to the ‘climate crisis’, countries around the world are implementing policy, administrative, and structural changes to transition towards a decarbonised economy. A key aspect of this shift is the development of offshore wind. In many countries, integrated ocean management approaches including Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) have been used to manage offshore wind development. However, in Australia – a country new to offshore wind - a traditional sector-specific approach has been adopted. Given the need for relatively rapid development of Australia's offshore renewable energy industry, and the urgency of the decarbonisation agenda, implementing a comprehensive MSP approach within the required timeframe would be challenging. This article therefore aims to identify elements of the MSP process that can be rapidly deployed to support offshore wind development. Drawing on lessons learnt internationally, we examine how three key elements of MSP—governance integration, participation, and building the evidence-base —might be employed in advance (or in lieu) of a formal MSP process. We provide recommendations to support the rollout of offshore wind that would provide coordinated pathways for integrated governance, build knowledge and provide greater social and environmental acceptability, which is relevant for other countries developing their offshore energy capacity in the absence of MSP. • Australia is enabling offshore renewable energy (ORE) for the first time. • ORE industries are facing complex regulatory landscapes and social conflict. • Elements of marine spatial planning (MSP) are key to support a rapid rollout of ORE. • Opportunities for MSP to support ORE within the current policy domain exist.