Australians still keen to listen – and be heard – despite crisis of faith about energy transition

Australians are having a crisis of faith over the energy transition, new data shows, but those on the frontline of community engagement say people are still willing to listen – and be listened to.

Across the country, people are slightly less keen on all forms of renewables, even rooftop solar and hydro, than in September last year, according to the SEC Newgate Mood of the Nation report in February.

Support for fossil fuel generation and nuclear, however, have all ticked up.

The Mood of the Nation report from February. Image: SEC Newgate

But this data is not necessarily reflective of communities where renewables are being pitched, says Cogency head of engagement Camilla Hamilton.

“It’s really important to remind ourselves that it’s easy to talk in vast populations, but when it comes to renewables, it’s really around just a township or a cluster of townships,” she tells Renew Economy.

“I think a lot of it is people are frightened that… their input isn’t going to matter, and they’re not clear about the opportunities where that input actually can have an impact.”

Indeed, the SEC Newgate data also shows that more people living in regional areas, and even Coalition voters, think the energy transition is moving too slowly than too quickly, and are still broadly positive about the whole thing. 

Although the Dyer report into attitudes to renewables in 2024 found “material distrust” of developers, surveys regularly show support for renewable energy in regional areas is still strong, as this one did in November. 

Biggest worries

Much of community consultation is answering questions about everything from the impact on insurance to why big batteries are not like the one in a drill or a scooter. 

Current community concerns range from bushfires, the top fear around batteries right now, and the amount of information available at each stage is a source of irritation, solved by walking people through how planning processes work, Hamilton says.

“That really helps people to settle their fears and then come at it again a little bit more rationally, and when they realize how early we are in the piece,” she says.

“That just really helps to not feel like it’s a done deal, because often it’s not. These projects have to be sound in so many ways, technically, socially, commercially.”

Where Hamilton can’t help is with already-entrenched ideas about renewables based on mis- or disinformation, that is information which is mistakenly or deliberately false.

“I don’t think people are… motivated to change their opinions at that point,” she says.

“What’s more interesting is watching the flows of misinformation and disinformation and about the trends in the topics. When wind farms were new, it was all about health impacts. As these wind farms have been built, those things have not been proven.”

She is seeing a trend shift to anti-renewable activists talking about the contamination of agricultural land and “forever” chemicals such as PFAS.

But the proliferation of solar, wind and battery projects already in the grid is useful in countering these.

“It’s so great to be able to say to communities now, okay, you’re unsure about what a battery is. That makes sense. Did you know that there’s actually 120 kilometres away? We’re happy to organise a tour. We can take you and we’ll show it to you,” she says.

“People love that idea. When you can physically see something, it’s harder to be scared of.”

What Hamilton won’t accept is bad behaviour from adults while she’s doing her job.

“You can be both angry and respectful at the same time, and I don’t need you to yell at me to absorb… concerns,” she says.

Listen, don’t tell

With repairing relations with regional communities now the number one priority for organisations from VicGrid to the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner, Hamilton’s role is as much about listening as it is about informing. 

“My job is to help communities understand what’s going on, to really listen to their concerns and relay that back to our planners, so that they can really understand what [these] are and hopefully influence how the project design,” she says.

“It doesn’t necessarily sit in a typical community and stakeholder engagement plan, but I put them in mine because I think that the client needs to understand what they’re about to enter.”

That involves digging into documentation and news stories about any commitments previous developers made and whether they followed through, whether they were transparent about the project, and how well everything was explained. 

The idea is to help communities understand what a “good” project and process looks like, allowing them to set their own expectations and, hopefully, set the tone for future projects.

And it also means trying out new ways of getting to the missing middle who aren’t concerned enough to go to a lengthy information session.

Hamilton is particularly excited about a coffee date idea they’re trying out: she does a deal with a local cafe — it has to be a good one — and if people want to have a chat about a project, she buys them a coffee.

The interactions provide a “realistic” view of what a community cares about and a better measurement of general sentiment in the community.

“When you’ve had maybe a couple of emails or exchanges with people that are angry, it really kind of balances that with other opinions.

“And it’s just a really nice way to spend time with the community and get the vibe.”

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