What has to be done better to show the benefits of renewables in the regions

Detailed summary

The Fifth Estate - Organised opposition to renewable energy in the regions where projects are being built is well known. The reasons for opposition vary from legitimate concerns…

Organised opposition to renewable energy in the regions where projects are being built is well known. The reasons for opposition vary from legitimate concerns around project siting and biodiversity, through to confected claims about “wind turbine syndrome”. And while the media often focuses excessively on the loud opponents, there is a portion of people in the middle who are feeling increasingly sceptical; there is an underlying concern that regions will bear the impacts of a fly-in, fly-out construction boom with modest lasting benefits.

Some of the ways the sector can deliver benefits for the regions include: community benefit funds and initiatives that significantly improve local infrastructure and services in the long term; local job creation and training, especially for young people, and economic activity for local businesses; Improvements for First Nations communities – Indigenous population shares are higher on average in the Renewable Energy Zones (REZ); and regulatory and policy reforms, and further technology developments and solutions to integrate renewables into local land-uses to minimise impacts on agriculture, biodiversity and landscapes

Community benefit funds – an annual allocation of funds from a developer for community groups and initiatives where projects are located – are now a standard feature of renewable energy projects. Historically, industry practice was to administer small grants scattered across local organisations such as sporting clubs – welcome, no doubt, but not creating long-term change.

The Clean Energy Council forecasts that the community benefit funds flowing from renewables into regional communities will be $213 million by 2030, increasing to $1.9 billion by 2050. Recognising the enormous potential to create transformative change in regions – there have been shifts in government policy in NSW, Queensland and Victoria to pool community benefit funds to enable investments in bigger projects that will support regional development.

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