The clean energy transition won’t succeed without community trust. And we’re running out of it

When a Moonlight Range Wind Farm project in Queensland was axed after more than two years of planning, it sent a clear message: the pace of Australia’s renewable energy transition is no longer being set by climate targets or investor confidence, but by community resistance.

Across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, a rising wave of local opposition is reshaping the energy landscape. Renewable energy projects are being delayed, downsized, or cancelled altogether. The challenges facing the transition are no longer primarily technological or financial; they are social. 

For instance, a major solar and battery hybrid project near Yass was recently shelved after community pushback over poor consultation and concerns about visual impact. A clear casualty of eroding social license in regional communities. 

In some areas, the backlash has taken on a personal tone. In Maxwell, New South Wales, farmers rejected financial offers from a developer as insulting and accused the project team of disrespect and secrecy.

Many communities report first learning about major projects through public notices, long after key decisions have been made. The result is a growing sense of exclusion and mistrust.

This tension isn’t entirely new. As early as 2022, analysts were warning that regulatory delays and community pushback could hinder the energy transition.

What has changed is the intensity and the political significance of the resistance. Farming communities are now at the centre of these debates, stirring deep divisions over land use, local control, and economic equity.

Inconsistent policy settings only add to the challenge. In New South Wales, for example, approval processes remain among the slowest and most costly nationwide.

Wind projects can take nearly a decade to progress through planning, at a cost of millions. Industry leaders warn that unless planning pathways are streamlined, Australia risks missing its 2030 emissions targets and losing investors’ confidence.

Yet not all the news is grim. Some councils and developers are learning from these conflicts and setting new standards for community benefits sharing, local job creation, and environmental stewardship.

There’s a growing recognition that meaningful engagement isn’t a “nice-to-have” but fundamental to getting projects off the ground.

Queensland’s recent move to require Community Benefit Agreements alongside Social Impact Assessments (SIAs) is, perhaps, a step in the right direction, formalising what many communities have long asked for: clarity, accountability, and respect.

So what needs to change?

From my experience working on several contentious renewable energy projects in Australia, one thing is becoming increasingly evident: clear and transparent communication is no longer optional; it is essential. Communities want facts, not spin.

To build trust, governments must invest in rigorous, independent studies to assess the impacts of renewable energy infrastructure on property values, electromagnetic fields (EMF) and health, energy pricing, and insurance premiums, particularly for residents in bushfire-prone regions.

These are not fringe concerns. They lie at the heart of how people assess risk and fairness. And they must be communicated early, clearly, and consistently.

Equally important is recognising that community engagement is not a one-off task. It must be ongoing, evolving with the project lifecycle: from planning to construction, operation, and ultimately, decommissioning.

Developers should treat engagement not as a regulatory hurdle, but as an investment: an opportunity to build lasting, respectful relationships with the communities they will be part of for decades.

Community engagement and SIA processes should be reframed as enablers, not bottlenecks, but as tools for co-creating better, more inclusive energy futures.

The most successful projects are those that treat communities as partners, not as obstacles. In my conversations across regional Australia, it’s clear: most rural residents aren’t anti-renewable. They’re anti-exclusion.

This brings us to the disconnect. 

The outcome of the 2025 federal election has given the Labor Party a historic mandate to deliver on its climate and energy agenda. With a strong majority in the House of Representatives, the government is now well-positioned to implement policies aimed at achieving 82% renewable energy by 2030. 

But while momentum builds in Canberra, the realities on the ground are growing more complex. Community pushbacks, driven by concerns around fire risk, land use, transparency, and equity, are becoming more visible and more organised. If these social dynamics are not addressed head-on, they could delay or even derail the energy transition.

Ultimately, Australia’s clean energy future depends on more than technology or policy targets. It depends on trust. And trust is built through listening, transparency, and shared decision-making, not afterthoughts, but fundamentals.

Sangay Wangchuk is the NSW Regional Lead for Communities at an environmental consultancy, where he leads social impact assessments and stakeholder engagement on renewable energy projects.

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