Gilliland, who is the former chief executive of Venture Taranaki and resigned from the role late last year, said South Taranaki was well placed for offshore wind energy because of its strong winds, as well as oil and gas personnel in the region.
"This consortium [BlueFloat Energy] ... had someone in New Zealand quite soon."
The project here proposes an offshore wind farm that would use fixed bottom technology and be located west of the Kupe platform where a large amount of the country's natural gas is produced.
BlueFloat Energy was working on plans for a total of 23 gigawatts of energy production around the world - including 900 megawatts that would come from the South Taranaki plans.
The company had not yet created an offshore wind farm but it was staffed with people who had, Gilliland said.
In its media release about the project the consortium said a conservative estimate was that it would create 600 jobs in construction, operations and maintenance.
" ... and to create further employment opportunities throughout the supply chain".
The electricity it produces could be enough to power nearly 440,000 homes, the consortium claims.
But the feasibility stage it is in could take between four and eight years, Gilliland said.
"Obviously we're trying to do as much as we can in advance of that so that we can move fast. But that will depend ... on what we discover in our studies and what we might need to do."
The wind farm would cover about 230sq km and sit beyond the 12-mile nautical zone as well as the marine mammal sanctuary and the Pātea Reef in that area.
The consortium hopes it can begin construction before 2030.
The Government still needed to create rules around how offshore renewable energy could be mined and Gilliland said the consortium's project would abide by those.
The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment said it expects a regulatory regime on offshore renewable energy to be in place in 2024 and it was talking with groups interested in developing those projects.
The consortium was in discussions with the three South Taranaki iwi - Ngaa Rauru, Ngāti Ruanui and Ngāruahine.
"We acknowledge the mana whenua and mana moana of the iwi at South Taranaki," Gilliland said.
"Each conversation and each relationship needs to be built with each iwi individually. We're at different points in that journey with iwi."
She said the consortium wanted to build a decades-long relationship "because our operation will be here for a very long time".
She said iwi were interested but people her organisation had spoken to wanted "to know more, which is entirely understandable".
The consortium was very keen to explore sharing ownership of the project with iwi, as well as the wider community, she said.
In March the NZ Super Fund announced it was considering setting up an offshore wind farm with a Danish company in the same area.
Analysis from Forsyth Barr said the price tag for the project was roughly twice the cost of building an onshore wind farm.
In response, Gilliland said the supplies needed to build an offshore wind farm were coming down in cost.
"The Global commitment to offshore wind projects are accelerating every day so that's bringing that cost curve down."
She said their proposal's wind farm was "quite a bit larger" than any onshore operation and would be able to produce at a higher capacity.
"For the use of a fairly small amount of our ocean we can produce a considerable amount of electricity."
They can also complement onshore wind farms because it can be windy offshore when it is less so on shore, and vice versa.
"What's important however ... is that New Zealand has a good mix of those renewable technologies and we include offshore wind."
South Taranaki District mayor Phil Nixon has backed the project in terms of the economic benefits it could bring to the region.
"Offshore wind supports our transition to a lower emissions economy, and with the potential for partnerships with mana whenua and the development of initiatives such as a research and innovation hub will help ensure South Taranaki remains Aotearoa, New Zealand's (sustainable) energy generator for the future."
• An earlier version of this story said 5 gigawatts of energy would come from the South Taranaki plans. The correct amount is 900 megawatts.
