The report found that this would increase clean energy capacity by 3 GW by 2016.

It also found that an estimated 650 new green jobs would be created each year through to 2016 in the construction and operation of renewable energy facilities.

The report was conducted by economic consultants Carbon Market Economics at the request of the Clean Energy Council.

The study compared existing and proposed renewable energy policies in Victoria and their potential impact on renewable energy development, in the lead up to the Victorian election on 27 November.

Political wind farm opposition

It found the effect of the Victorian Opposition policy on wind farms would be severely detrimental – between 50% and 70% of currently proposed wind farms in Victoria would not be developed if this policy was pursued. Additional expenditure in wind generation would drop by A$2.6-3.6bn from 2010-16.

The Clean Energy Council's CEO Matthew Warren says: "There's no doubt that substantial wind farm investment and jobs will immediately leave Victoria if the Coalition’s current policies were adopted. This could effectively cripple the wind industry."

A recent Newspoll study found that 93% of all Victorians want more renewable energy, contradicting anti wind farm policies.

The report found an estimated 200 fewer jobs would be created from 2010 to 2016 if the Victorian Coalition's policy was adopted.

"The wind farm standards proposed by Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu, including 2 km setbacks, would make it tougher to put up a wind turbine in regional Victoria than to dig a new coal mine.

"The proposed standards are not based on any scientific measure. Victoria has some of the toughest wind farm development standards in the world," Warren says.