Clean Energy Council CEO Kane Thornton said initiatives being shown by state and territory governments were resulting in a majority of renewable energy employers expecting to increase their workforce over the next 12 months, owing to a large number of shovel-ready projects.

"The clean energy industry can be a powerful catalyst for strengthening the mostly rural and regional communities where these projects are based, providing quality, ongoing job opportunities, boosting local manufacturing sectors and, in turn, supporting the local economy," he said.

The latest Clean Energy Outlook - Confidence Index found that New South Wales enjoyed the strongest levels of confidence, with a rating of 7.6 out of 10.

This was significantly higher than the other states in the National Electricity Market, with Queensland and Victoria following NSW with a rating of 6.5.

"As we look ahead into 2021 and beyond the pandemic, this latest survey is a source of hope for the clean energy, low emissions future the industry and the general public wants to see," Thornton said.

"The NSW Government has prioritised the need for transmission upgrades, first acknowledged in its NSW Transmission Infrastructure Strategy from 2018, and most recently in the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Investment Roadmap.

"These transmission network upgrades are identified as addressing these key challenges by clean energy leaders, so this affirmative action is working and is paying off in the case of NSW."