Women in offshore wind join forces to build new energy

Women often get to a certain age having taken time out from their careers for children and wonder what’s next, strategist Mary Barry says.

For some it might be a long-term, high-paying job in one of Australia’s newest industries: offshore wind.

Industry champions – men and women – can help make that happen and have launched a movement at an inaugural event so popular it packed the conference room at the Sofitel hotel in Melbourne.

“We should have booked the ballroom,” Ms Barry told AAP.

Along with environmental scientist Naomi Kerp and infrastructure specialists Erin Coldham and Emily Scivetti, Ms Barry set up Women of Offshore Wind (WOW) to support a nascent industry full of potential, particularly for regional workers.

“We need to open the door with this initiative,” she said.

For an industry already facing a skills shortage, WOW might prove to be vital for getting enough talent into a sector that could build a sustainable energy system for millions of Australians.

“Our mission is driven by the unwavering belief that a more diverse and inclusive workforce is not only essential for the offshore wind sector’s growth but is also integral to creating a sustainable and equitable energy future,” Ms Barry told the event’s crowd.

The group intends to promote gender diversity and inclusion across the entire offshore wind industry and a supply chain that will rely on regional towns and existing local industry.

“Mary could power the world with her powerful positive energy,” event MC Alexandra Lowen said to a room full of splashes of pink.

Co-founder Ms Kerp began her career in the mining industry and spent seven years with Chevron Australia, including a role as approvals team lead for the Gorgon gas development at Barrow Island, one of the largest and most scrutinised resources projects in Australia.

Having worked in the male-dominated resources sector, including in a role where she was one of only two women in a mining camp, she says she is passionate about eliminating barriers and creating opportunities for women.

Ms Coldham is chief development officer at one of Australia’s most advanced offshore wind projects, Star of the South, planned for an area off Victoria’s Gippsland coast.

As chief operating officer of Oceanex Energy, Ms Scivetti is looking at building up to five offshore wind farms off the coast of Australia totalling 10,000 megawatts and powering the equivalent of more than five million homes.

The country’s longest-serving energy minister, Victoria’s Lily D’Ambrosio, officially launched WOW as her home state aims for offshore wind by 2030.

Winds in the Bass Strait are among the best in the world and could help Victoria halve emissions by 2030, motivating the state government to make it the first Australian jurisdiction to get a project up.

The federal government is also looking to offshore wind as a key part of the energy mix.

Australia last year joined the Global Offshore Wind Alliance, which is aiming for at least 380 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity worldwide by 2030.

The International Renewable Energy Agency says offshore wind capacity will need to be more than 2000GW by 2050 to help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees and achieve net zero carbon emissions.

“We’re trying to electrify – we need mining, we need automotive, we need modular housing as key components,” Ms Barry said.

Floating or fixed wind farms can be strategically positioned offshore to link into big batteries and near industrial heartland, each one capable of replacing an ageing coal-fired plant.

Although Australia is late to join the industry, experts say the country has second-mover advantage as technology costs fall.

Modelling by developers and independent analysts show offshore wind can operate at high capacity at night, when Australia’s onshore wind and solar are at a low ebb.

But the nation will need tens of thousands of electricians, engineers, builders, welders and other trades to achieve its target of 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030.

Legal services, finance, logistics, planning and approvals are also job-rich fields for offshore energy.

Onshore energy projects and the tripling of the country’s transmission lines to connect a more complicated grid are leading to competition for skilled workers in a world where every advanced economy is in a similar race.

A workforce that’s as inclusive as possible will be needed to electrify homes, businesses and industries, WOW founders say.

A landmark survey in 2021 by the Clean Energy Council found women made up 39 per cent of the industry’s workforce, compared to 23 per cent in oil and gas and 16 per cent in the coal industry.

But the gender imbalance was greater at the top, similar to executive roles and board members in the mining and fossil fuel sectors.

Women in clean energy reported experiencing bullying and harassment, being ignored or excluded on important discussions, and missing out on promotion to male counterparts.

Other barriers that employers need to address to attract workers include workplace entitlements, particularly around parental leave.

Using caring responsibilities – for children or parents – as a rationale for being excluded from projects was also not on, workers said.

In January this year, Australia committed to a fair clean energy transition by signing up to an international alliance to close the gender gap by 2030.

Equal pay, equal leadership and equal opportunity are the objectives of the global “Equal by 30” campaign.

Energy jobs are decent, secure jobs that should be accessible to all Australians, including women, the government says.