Plans to build offshore wind farms are progressing across Australia, but some communities remain opposed to having them established in their own backyards.

While most young people are on board with renewables, some say the marine environment is not being considered in plans to construct offshore wind farms around the country.

The federal government is in the process of creating several offshore wind zones, with two already declared along the eastern states.

Port Stephens resident Rhys Westbury, 28, is one of the people leading the charge against the declared zone in the New South Wales Hunter region.

"My stance isn't anti-renewable and it's not 'no to wind farms' in general," he said.

The Hunter zone was declared earlier this year, following the first zone being established in the Bass Strait off Gippsland, Victoria.

The Hunter offshore wind zone stretches from Norah Head on the NSW Central Coast all the way up to Port Stephens, north of Newcastle.

It takes up nearly 2,000 square kilometres of ocean space.

The federal government is proposing to establish another one in the Southern Ocean off Victoria and South Australia, which has also attracted backlash from the community and even the South Australian government.

A fourth is being proposed off the Illawarra coastline, south of Sydney.

The zones open the door to companies wanting to build and invest in offshore wind in Australia.

Unknown marine impacts

In the Hunter region, the main concern residents have is the unknown impacts offshore wind turbines will have on the marine environment.

"We live on the whale migration route," Norah Head teenager Tom McMahon said.

The zone was originally proposed to start 10 kilometres from Norah Head's coastline, but community backlash and protests saw it revised to more than 50 kilometres from the shore.

Mr McMahon said it was a win for his community.

"The whole landscape of Norah Head would have changed drastically if the landscape was dominated by turbines," he said.

However, the result was not the same for the Port Stephens community, as the proposed zone was much closer to the shoreline there.

"It almost will be a fence closing in a communal, natural wonder-scape," Mr Westbury said.

Another issue some young people have raised is that their concerns are not being taken on board by those in power.

"The government needs to listen to communities like ours because they're ultimately bulldozing our opinions," Mr McMahon said.

Not all young people opposed

Research shows that most young people want climate change action.

A recent University of Wollongong survey of young people in the Illawarra region showed most in that community support the development of offshore wind farms.

Newcastle-based renewable energy engineering student Jasmine Stuart, 22, said while she understood concerns about consultation, the transition was desperately needed.

"We're experiencing like extreme ocean temperatures, air temperatures, the climate crisis is feeling very real at the moment," she said.

She said it will also be good for local jobs.

"It's a great opportunity to transition a lot of the jobs that have traditionally been in the coal industry," she said.

"There's a lot of transferable skills that can be applied to offshore wind, which is a much more sustainable long-term industry."

A lengthy process ahead

CEO of Australian offshore wind company OceanEx Energy, Andy Evans, said there was still a lot more work to do before construction would start in the ocean.

He said now a zone had been established they would spend about five to seven years completing feasibility studies.

"A key part of what we're doing will include really detailed environmental studies, usually you'll have a minimum of two years' worth of work," he said.

"Looking at any existing wildlife … looking at designing projects and understanding how many opportunities and particularly jobs and investment you can create for local regions."

Developers have until November 14 to submit feasibility licence applications for the Hunter offshore wind zone.