Australia’s inaugural National Wind Farm Commissioner – who in 2016 quipped that he hoped, soon, to be put out of a job – has this week had his role expanded, again, to take in major new electricity transmission projects.
Federal energy minister Angus Taylor said this week that renewables industry veteran Andrew Dyer would now be known as the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner, after agreeing to take on the expanded responsibilities.
Dyer has been in the Wind Commissioner job since it was first created, somewhat controversially, under the former Abbott government in 2015, to steward the wind industry through a period of bad press and soured public relations that was in no small part perpetuated by Abbott and Taylor themselves.
It has turned out to be an important role, working with communities to make sure their concerns around renewable energy development – the role officially took in big solar and battery storage in 2018 – are heard and ensuring developers understand the crucial importance of social licence in their work.
Transmission projects, which as RenewEconomy has reported are rapidly becoming the main new battle front in Australia’s shift to renewables, is the logical next step. But it gives the role a new degree of difficulty, as major grid infrastructure projects are fast-tracked across the National Electricity Market.
“Transmission investment is crucial to the security and affordability of our grid,” said Taylor, in an statement on Thursday.
“As these critically important transmission projects take shape, we want to ensure that any concerns community members have are heard and resolved in the appropriate way, and the Commissioner’s expanded role will facilitate this.”
Taylor said the new role would see Dyer facilitate the resolution of complaints and community concerns about new major transmission projects, as well as assist industry and governments to identify and adopt best practices for deploying these projects.
This instantly puts a number of massive and highly charged projects on the Commissioner’s plate, including the Marinus Link, between Tasmania and the Australian mainland, Project EnergyConnect, linking South Australia and New South Wales, HumeLink linking the Snowy 2.0 project with the grid in NSW, and VNI West between Victoria and NSW.
But Dyer says he is confident that, drawing from a well-thumbed playbook from the wind industry, he and his team can work with transmission project proponents, industry and government to minimise the stress and concerns of affected communities.
“Australia is about to embark on the most significant deployment of large-scale transmission projects in the country’s history,” Dyer said in an emailed statement.
“Effective community engagement and resolution of community concerns will be essential for these major projects to proceed in a timely manner – and deliver much needed grid capacity where it is required.
“I very much look forward to working with key stakeholders to promote adoption of community engagement best practices to industry and government, as well as help bring resolution to community issues and concerns.”
The Clean Energy Council welcomed the news of Dyer’s expanded role.
“The wind industry has made a concerted effort in recent years to lift the quality of its community engagement practices, and this focus is reflected in a reduction in complaints made by community members over time, despite increasing levels of activity,” said CEC chief Kane Thornton in a statement.
“The Commissioner has played an important role in supporting this continuous improvement effort, and we look forward to his contribution to best practice within the transmission sector, which is a vital partner of the electricity generation sector.
“Upgrades in our transmission network are required urgently. Planning and development must take place in consultation with local communities to deliver outcomes that are both fair and equitable,” Thornton said.
