The Australian government has identified six offshore wind zones that will be favoured for project development.
The first in the Bass Strait off Gippsland has entered public consultations.
Five other zones will follow, according to the government.
These include two acreages in the Pacific off the Hunter and off the Illawarra in New South Wales.
A Southern Ocean region off Portland in Victoria, another area in the Bass Strait off Northern Tasmania and a final one in the Indian Ocean off Perth/Bunbury, Western Australia, are also in the mix.
Details of the five other regions and the public consultation processes will be announced in due course.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said he has been fighting to unlock Australia’s offshore wind capacity for years.
“The world’s climate emergency is Australia’s regional jobs opportunity and offshore wind is just one example,” he said.
“Unlocking the offshore wind industry is an exciting new chapter for Australia and we want to build a platform of community collaboration and support around it.
“We have some of the best wind resources in the world – just one rotation of one offshore wind turbine provides as much energy as an average rooftop solar installation generates in one day.
“This new industry will provide opportunities to reduce emissions and fast track job and economic development opportunities for regional Australia particularly in clean energy generation and manufacturing.
“Many other countries have been successfully harvesting offshore wind energy for years, and now is the time for Australia to start the journey to firmly establish this reliable and significant form of renewable energy.”