Standard Presentation 2024 Australian Marine Sciences Association Annual Meeting combined with NZMSS

Approaching the challenges of cumulative risk assessment for offshore wind infrastructure in the Gippsland declared area (#150)

Keith Hayes 1
  1. CSIRO Data61, Hobart, TASMANIA, Australia

The energy generated by new wind turbines in the Gippsland declared area will help Australia meet it's net zero commitments. The wind turbines, however, may also have a detrimental impact on listed threatened species and other matters of national environmental significance. The NESP Marine and Biodiversity Hub recently commenced a three year project to examine how the construction and operation of new offshore wind infrastructure adds to the existing risks faced by: a) key species that reside in, or traverse through, the Gippsland area, and b) the marine ecosystems in and around the area. This presentation will highlight the challenges that cumulative risk assessment presents, and discuss the strategies and methods that the project intends to use in order to address these challenges.