“The grapevine will beat you every time:” How regional towns are managing anti-renewable push

A rural town has avoided ideological arguments on the renewable energy transition by encouraging developers to invest in health, housing and education.

Clean energy is central to cutting Australia’s greenhouse emissions, but it could also be key to improving health, education, aged care and the cost of living in rural areas.

Solar and wind energy projects are set to inject $25 billion into country communities over the next five years and create 19,000 jobs, according to economic modelling by the Regional Australia Institute.

The think tank’s new research has also revealed anti-renewables movements are highly organised in the regions and misinformation on the energy transition is “rife”.

The institute has called for urgent action to ensure clean energy projects make lasting positive change in the communities that host them, creating a “win-win” situation for the regions.  

Its Building A Legacy report, released on Thursday morning, proposed a model called the REAL Deal, in which energy companies would contribute to community funds.

Locals could decide where to distribute money across community services, jobs, skills, housing or environmental projects, while all levels of government would add to the funds from their existing budgets.

“The REAL Deal provides a framework to build a legacy for regional Australia where jobs, infrastructure and opportunities stay in regional communities, while helping Australia reach its net zero commitments,” think tank chief executive Liz Ritchie said.

The research pointed to an approach taken in Hay, in the NSW Riverina, where a renewable energy zone will include wind, solar, battery storage and two new transmission lines.

The council first hosted educational workshops with town leaders, followed by community forums that aired concerns about existing challenges across health, education and jobs.

It developed a guideline for developers, listing affordable electricity prices, childcare, aged care and education as local investment opportunities in the energy transition.

Housing built for energy workers should be “10-star, well-constructed” homes that could be later re-purposed for affordable accommodation, the document said.

One Hay local interviewed by the think tank said the energy transition began not when a sod was turned, but when the first developer began talking to landholders.

“We did it really quickly … because in small towns the grapevine will beat you every single time,” the local told the researchers about the move to get the town onboard.

The shire took the steam out of any ideological arguments by instead focusing on opportunities, council economic development manager Alison McLean said.

“We had a very clear choice as a community: we can have this happen to us or we can have this happen with us,” Ms McLean told AAP.

“We would be rather in the tent at the table than outside screaming.

“Ever since settlement we’ve been trying to diversify our economy, but we’ve never been able to do it because of our location and now all of sudden because of hosting renewable energy we can.”

See also: “We set the rules of engagement:” How one community took control when wind and solar came to town

See also: SwitchedOn podcast: How one regional community got ahead of renewables disinformation

Source: AAP