The Offshore Renewable Energy Bill, which was introduced in December 2024, passed its third reading on June 30.

The bill establishes a two-stage permitting regime, with developers required to obtain a feasibility permit to investigate a particular site, and then a commercial permit and the relevant consents if they decide to go ahead.

It also establishes consultation requirements and gives ministers the power to designate areas for offshore renewable energy to manage competition with seabed mining activities.

Energy Minister Simeon Brown marked the passage of the bill in an announcement on Wednesday.

“New Zealand’s renewable electricity generation reached a record 96.4 per cent in the last three months of 2025 and offshore renewable energy has the potential to contribute to that, and to help New Zealand meet increasing demand for power,” Brown said.

“However, the absence of a regulatory framework for offshore renewable energy - wind, solar, wave or tidal - has created uncertainty for potential developers.

MPs from Labour and the Green Party both supported the bill, but said delays passing it into law had contributed to international developers such as BlueFloat Energy deciding to exit the New Zealand market.

“We’ve already lost one offshore renewable developer as a consequence of the time this has taken,” Green Party energy spokesman Scott Willis said, during a debate in the House this week.

First tender round coming

The new regime includes a provision for safety zones to be created around developments and puts obligations on developers to decommission the infrastructure once it is no longer in use.

“Now that the Bill has passed, officials will advise when the first tender round for permits can proceed. I expect this to occur in the coming months,” Brown said.

South Taranaki has been identified as an area with strong potential for offshore wind.

"The winds off the South Taranaki coast are on a par with those of the North Sea, the most productive offshore wind region in the world, and because they blow so steadily, offshore turbines are expected to run at higher capacity than turbines on land,” Brown said.

"The South Taranaki Bight alone could one day supply a significant amount of new generating capacity, with a single large project there potentially powering more than 650,000 homes.”

Offshore wind developments require significant capital to develop. According to a report on the bill from the Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee, feasibility studies are estimated to cost around $200 million, while development is estimated at $5 billion.

Among the best in the world

The New Zealand Super Fund and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners have been exploring the potential of offshore wind in South Taranaki for several years.

Speaking at the Beyond the Election conference hosted by the Environmental Defence Society last week, Giacomo Caleffi, the director leading the joint venture between CIP and the Super Fund, referred to the lack of a regulatory regime as one barrier to development.

“It’s taking a little bit longer than we were hoping, but we seem to be getting there,” he said, referring to the bill.

The joint venture had undertaken wind speed measurements using floating LiDAR, as well as marine mammal monitoring using underwater microphones.

“South Taranaki is one of the best sites in the world in our portfolio because of the wind speeds, amazing wind speeds, and shallow sea depths,” Caleffi said.

He pitched offshore wind as a way of meeting future electricity demand, as well as an insurance policy against smaller planned developments that may not end up progressing.

“We’re talking about technology where a single project can replace the need for eight onshore wind farms or something like 7500 hectares of solar, or a lot of coal, or a lot of LNG,” he said.