A new campaign is urging the Federal Government to invest in establishing Local Energy Hubs to support regional communities’ transition to renewable energy.
The push comes as the Regional Australia Institute released a report warning that Australia’s net zero emissions targets are at risk unless regional communities have a real seat at the table driving the change.
RE-Alliance, the Community Power Agency, and Yes2Renewables have joined forces calling on the federal government to fund Local Energy Hubs for regional areas in the upcoming Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
To complement the campaign, RE-Alliance released a film demonstrating the need for Local Energy Hubs – local outreach centres staffed by trusted experts who can answer questions from their communities about the energy transition.
“Australians support our move to renewable energy, but our understanding of how far we’ve come, where we’re heading and what needs to happen to get to the end point is almost non-existent,” RE-Alliance National Director Andrew Bray said.
“From hosting a large-scale solar farm on existing grazing land, to working out how to install the best solar and battery system for on-farm use, to filling an empty shop front to build local knowledge around renewables – all three stories in this film show how Local Energy Hubs could have made each journey easier.
“We need governments to proactively support and resource communities to understand, participate in and benefit from the energy transformation – and we think Local Energy Hubs could be a big part of the solution.”
These proposed hubs would provide easy local access to facts by hiring experienced community experts across renewable energy, transmission projects, home electrification, battery storage, electric vehicles and more. They would serve as community outreach centres supporting the shift to renewables.
According to the campaign, the hubs are seen as crucial for fostering community trust in renewable projects through quality communication and engagement with developers. They would also help address barriers like lack of time or advice for household, small business, and farm electrification.
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