Community & Business
11 June, 2024
Community-first: a gust of fresh air
The closest Renewable Energy Zone is Southern Downs, which will connect to the Macintyre Wind Farm.
The lack of community consultation was a big sticking point for residents of the East Greenmount/Ramsay area when they heard, through neighbours, that there were plans to construct a wind farm in their neighbourhood.
Likewise, earlier this year residents to the east of Allora banded together in an effort to stop a Victorian company from constructing a wind farm in their district.
The Allora residents’ proactive approach, including holding town hall meetings and the involvement of the local Member for Southern Downs James Lister, saw the energy company pull out very early on in the process.
In Tasmania, a Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) has been established in the north west of the state.
RE-Alliance, which works with regional communities as they work through the rollout of new renewable energy, said other states and territories could learn a lot from the consultation process that took place in Tasmania.
RE-Alliance National Director Andrew Bray said it was the first example he has seen of a state or territorxay government putting community engagement at the beginning of a REZ process, and it should become the model for REZ development on the mainland.
“It’s the first proposed REZ in the country that wasn’t put forward until an open, community-focussed process of consultation was completed,” Mr Bray said.
“This means that the lines on a map weren’t drawn until locals had shared where they would be happy for renewables to go and where they weren’t.”
Tasmania’s Renewables, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania (ReCFIT) department deployed an Australian-first ‘mapping important places’ platform which gathered community views on the places that are important to them, which was then considered alongside the technical, environmental and land use information.
Mr Bray said that the government has already called for expressions of interest for locals to co-design how a community benefit scheme should look.
“To do this at the front end of a REZ development process is exactly when it should be happening, and setting up a Community Advisory Board sends entirely the right message,” he said.
Now the proposed REZ has been announced, a new round of consultation has kicked off.
“Putting communities first in the planning process for a REZ is a great start,” Mr Bray said.
Now, the government needs to keep up the good work and build the capacity of regional communities in Tasmania to become active participants in the renewable energy rollout.”
“One way of doing this is by recognising the crucial role that Local Councils play as critical stakeholders to support their communities.
“Local Councils need to be resourced appropriately to engage with Renewable Energy Zones when they’re located within one.”
