Trad proposes legislated funds for regional communities hosting clean energy projects

The Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Jackie Trad has proposed a permanent funding stream be established for regional communities hosting clean energy developments in an effort to help industry garner trust in places renewable projects are most frequently built.

In an address to the Australian Clean Energy Summit in Sydney, Trad said Australia needs a new contract with regional Australia, arguing the industry’s biggest challenge was no longer proving the case for renewable energy, but earning trust where projects are built. 

“The fundamental problem this industry has is trust. We do not have enough of it in the places where we build: regional and rural Australia,” Trad said. 

“[The clean energy sector’s] intentions are sincere. Our product is clean. But go looking for the research that says regional communities trust the renewable energy industry, and you will not find it. It does not exist. And in this business, what communities believe determines what gets built.”

Under the proposal, Trad said the Renewable Resources Payment (RRP) scheme could mimic the way the coal and gas sector pays royalties, with a permanent and public national scheme, where every MWh of renewable electricity would attract a legislated payment, paid directly to the local councils hosting the infrastructure for the life of the project.

The scheme would replace current community benefit funds, grants and negotiated payments with one transparent system.

“Regional Australia is being asked to host the machinery of our energy security. The least we can do is make sure the towns that host it share squarely in the wealth it creates,” Trad said.

“This is not intended to be an additional cost; it is intended to be a better way of spending the money we already spend and a clearer way of communicating our investment and the benefit.”’

Local councils

Trad said the idea was inspired by companies in Central Queensland, which had a rocky relationship with the Isaac Regional Council but turned the relationship around with payments made to the council, for its own purposes and priorities.

“A mayor knows whether the town needs a pool, a childcare centre, doctor’s rooms or a decent road,” Trad said.

“And if the money is spent badly, there is a reckoning every four years at the ballot box.”

Sector peak body Local Government NSW President Mayor Darcy Bryne welcomed Trad’s proposal, saying councils want renewable energy to succeed, but host communities must see real, lasting benefits from the infrastructure in their backyards.

“It’s not every day you see an industry proposing a royalty on itself, but this is the right call to build trust and confidence in the renewables sector,” Bryne said.

“Regional councils are used to getting left behind by big agencies and utilities, so locking in a simple system of financial contributions directly paid to local government would help overcome the cynicism that they are feeling about the renewables roll out.” 

Byrne added that local councils in the bush know their communities best and will invest any royalties collected from wind and solar projects in the infrastructure local people need.

“The shift to renewable energy must be managed in genuine partnership with councils and their communities, including those impacted by storage and transmission infrastructure local people need.”