The company behind plans to develop a 1.4 gigawatt floating wind farm off the Hunter coast has successfully bid to build a similar project off the Scottish coast.
BlueFloat Energy and its project partner Falck Renewables were the successful bidders in ScotWind's recent offshore wind lease auction to develop wind turbines on three sites that will generate three gigawatts of energy.
The projects are scheduled to be operational by the end of the decade.
In Australia, the company has partnered with Energy Estate.
It is part of a broader plan to develop at least 4.3 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity in Australian waters in coming years.
"We are excited by the prospect of introducing the two types of offshore wind technology (floating and fixed) into Australia, as this will enable us to harness some of the best offshore wind resources globally,"BlueFloat Energy chief executive Carlos Martin said.
BlueFloat Energy hopes to start construction in the next five years, pending state and federal government approvals. The turbines will have a lifespan of between 30-40 years.
Mr Martin said the project was designed to support the revitalisation of the Hunter region as it transitions from coal-fired power.
Mr Martin said the Scottish project was an ideal precursor to the Australian project
"The Scottish coastline is ideal for developing offshore wind projects and our team is thrilled to be given the opportunity to deploy our expertise to deliver these projects in Scotland," he said.
"The potential for boosting the economy and reinforcing Scotland's position at the forefront of the energy transition is huge. We have already carried out extensive work on mapping out the Scottish supply chain and now look forward to ensuring we work with as many local companies as possible."
Environmental group Save Our Coast, which led a campaign against the offshore gas exploration project PEP-11, supports the proposal of a floating wind farm off the Hunter coast but said potential impacts needed to be "carefully assessed".
A spokesperson said a floating wind farm posed less risk in terms of coastal aesthetics, climate change, ocean pollution and safety.
"However any underwater noise-generating activity needs to be carefully assessed for potential impact on marine mammals and the delicate ecosystem," the spokesperson said.
"While we welcome clean energy alternatives, there must be careful consideration of potential ecosystem impacts."
A Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre report said Australia was yet to capitalise on significant offshore wind capacity.
That is despite the International Energy Agency nominating it as one of the "big three" likely sources of renewable energy globally alongside solar and onshore wind.
It said sites that had traditionally been electricity generation hubs, such as the Hunter and Latrobe valleys and Gladstone, were found to be particularly suitable as they were close to transmission grids and had strong offshore winds at times when solar and onshore wind output was limited.
