Promoting trust and communication will be vital if wary Australians are to embrace the nation’s transition to net zero, according to a major energy study.
Improved community consultation, better complaint handling through ombudsman roles and a rating system for developers are among nine recommendations of the review put forward by the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner (AEIC).
All have been accepted in principle by the federal government.
Led by Commissioner Andrew Dyer, the study aimed to determine more effective ways to engage landowners and communities directly affected by the green energy transformation.
It found some participants had “a lack of trust” in project developers, including government-owned corporations.
Other recommendations include increasing early local collaboration and revising planning and approval processes.
The review was carried out after complaints in regional Australia about poor planning and a lack of consultation with farmers.
Many participants advocated for “an approach that enabled developers to be held accountable where performance fell below the expected standard.”
“The transition cannot succeed without community participation and effective engagement over a long and sustained period of time,” the authors said.
The federal government wants 82 percent of electricity produced by renewables by 2030, up from 32 percent in 2022.
“We’re in the middle of a very important revolution when it comes to our energy generation,” Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said as he launched the AEIC’s findings at a wind farm near Goulburn in NSW on Feb. 2.
“There are legitimate valid issues and concerns that people have that need to be worked through.
“There’s also disinformation and misinformation for people who do not want to see renewable energy.
“We want to make sure the regions which host so much of this infrastructure are properly engaged ... not every renewable proposal is in the right place.”
The peak body for the clean energy industry in Australia warned specific recommendations around developer rating schemes and more government involvement in the location of projects could lead to delays.
“Genuine engagement in good faith ... is needed to ensure we get the balance right between managing community expectations and getting on with the job of building the generation, transmission and storage infrastructure Australia urgently needs,” the Clean Energy Council’s Arron Wood said.
Farmers have warned there is a long way to go to get things right.
Things need to improve,” Tony Mahar from the farmers’ federation warned.
“The government, industry, and agriculture must work together to make sure that we act on this report.”
Farmers for Climate Action want the recommendations acted upon.
“We were glad to see legitimate concerns were printed in this review and were not hidden,” Farmers for Climate Action head Natalie Collard said.
The review held more than 75 meetings throughout Australia, with more than 700 participants and some 500 submissions.
The majority of more than 250 survey responses were received from landholders and community members living near renewable energy and transmission infrastructure.
The industry was also consulted, with some developers expressing frustration about the wider negative impact poor quality community engagement had on the industry’s reputation.
