The election of an Albanese Government and a raft of climate-focused Greens and independent MPs heralds a new chapter in Australia’s story of becoming a renewable energy superpower. But there are some blank pages to fill in Labor’s Power Australia plan before community energy initiatives like solar banks and neighbourhood batteries can be deployed to assist more Australians to benefit from cheaper, cleaner power.

Over the weekend we saw that Australians in cities and regions around the country overwhelmingly voted for climate action. With the doubling of the crossbench, the public have made it clear that the major parties have not been delivering effective climate policy that will have tangible outcomes.

“Labor’s Powering Australia plan brings some welcome community energy initiatives that have potential to assist everyday Australians to transition to a lower carbon energy system and provide savings on their power bills if designed and delivered appropriately” says Community Power Agency’s project manager Kim Mallee.

The 2022 federal election result indicates broad social acceptance for the large-scale build out of renewable energy, however it should be remembered that social licence is an active process which can be revoked.

The Powering Australia Plan commits 85 solar banks and 400 neighbourhood batteries which could enable everyday Australians to be active participants in and beneficiaries of the renewable energy transition – but only if they are well designed and adequately supported.

While the design of these community energy policies is yet to be clarified, we suggest a roll-out of Community Power Hubs across regional Australia bolstered with a capacity building network behind it. 

“Community energy is not just an electricity project at a local scale – it’s the community having agency and participation in energy projects to determine their own vision” says Mallee.

Solar Gardens (Banks)

Solar Gardens (as we prefer to call Solar Banks) provide a solution for the 30% of Australians that are still locked out of the rooftop solar revolution because they rent, live in an apartment or have an inappropriate roof due to shading or other reasons. Solar Gardens offer plots in an off-site solar array with the electricity generated from their solar garden plots credited onto participants’ electricity bills. 

Community energy projects such as Solar Gardens play a critical role in the transition to renewable energy not just in terms of megawatt capacity but also in a way that is socially inclusive, creates social licence and stimulates meaningful regional economic development.

Community Power Agency has been pioneering the Solar Garden model in Australia since 2018 with an ARENA funded research project in partnership with University of Technology Sydney, that found the model is viable and desirable in Australia. 

Labor’s ‘Solar Banks’ initiative commits $100Million to deliver an initial 85 solar banks assisting with 50% of the capital costs and importantly also covers the project’s feasibility and development costs. 

After our Solar for All advocacy campaign, Community Power Agency was successful in receiving grant support from the NSW Regional Community Energy Fund for Australia’s first large-scale Solar Garden along with Sydney based community energy group Pingala, solar developer Komo Energy and community-owned electricity retailer Enova Energy. The Haystacks Solar Garden will be a 1MW solar array in the NSW Riverina and allow 333 people to purchase 3kW solar garden plots and receive credits on their electricity bill. It is in the final stages of network and construction approvals.  

From the previous two years experience developing Haystacks Solar Garden we know that to roll out an effective Solar Banks/Garden program of the size Labor are proposing will require tailored expertise, support and coordination – such that could be provided via a Community Power Hubs & Network model. 

Neighbourhood Batteries

The ‘Community Batteries for Household Solar’ initiative also outlined in the Powering Australia Plan shows some promising potential if developed effectively with communities at its heart. The initiative commits $200 million towards developing 400 neighbourhood batteries to help store rooftop solar energy at peak generation times and then make it available for the community at peak demand times.

There is a lot of buzz right now about the potential for neighbourhood batteries to assist in the transition to a clean energy future in a way that is nimble and equitable for everyday people. Developing business models and partnerships that suit the Australian electricity system and deliver meaningful participation for communities will be a key first step in developing this initiative effectively.

Whilst there are a number of neighbourhood battery trials underway in Australia there is a critical balancing act in making a project successful which requires careful consideration of network location, metering technology, tariff design and community engagement. Lessons learnt from existing trials will be critical in ensuring the roll out of an Australian wide community battery program of this scale is effective. 

For more analysis and insight on neighbourhood batteries see this Renew Economy article by ANU researchers.

Community Power Hubs

Community Power Hubs are on-the-ground support organisations with the expertise and resources to enable community energy projects like solar banks and neighbourhood batteries to thrive. 

To date in Australia there have been three regional pilot Community Power Hubs programs (currently expanded to 7 locations) funded by the Victoria Government with existing non-profit organisations resourced to deliver this program. 

A key feature that has enabled the success of the Victorian Community Power Hubs is the background facilitation role played by Sustainability Victoria – a government agency – to enable collaboration, capacity building and knowledge sharing.  

The roll out of solar banks and neighbourhood batteries will need on the ground support like Hubs adequately bolstered with a capacity building network. Our policy brief – Smart Energy Communities Program – details how 50 Community Power Hubs with grant resources and a Smart Energy Communities Network for capacity building can be delivered and scaled up over 10 years.

*This blog was edited on 26/5/22 to update our language about community batteries – we agree with the ANU Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program team that they should be referred to as “neighbourhood” batteries as a catch-all, except where community members have explicit participation and/or control over their planning and operation.

December 2021 saw two notable “firsts” in Australia’s energy transition.

An impressive milestone for South Australia, where wind and solar farms entirely powered 100% of that state’s energy needs for a record 6.5 days, just shy of a whole week.

Meanwhile in different locations around the country, renewable energy practitioners logged in to the final session of an online course teaching them new social license tools many in the industry and civil society say is critical to delivering the pipeline of new renewable energy developments on the path to Australia’s 2050 net zero emissions target.

Community Power Agency (CPA) and the Yunus Centre (Griffith University) developed the 8-week online professional development course to increase people’s confidence and skills to deliver industry-leading community engagement, benefit sharing and local procurement for commercial renewable energy developments.

The ‘Socially-responsible renewable energy development’ course is the first of its kind to be offered in Australia and was made possible with the support of renewables advocacy group RE-Alliance and philanthropic donors Danny and Sue Mathews from the Mullum Trust.

With 10 years experience in advising governments, companies and civil society organisations on community engagement and benefit sharing for renewable energy developments, course facilitator and CPA Director Dr Jarra Hicks said achieving a social licence to operate was different for each project and couldn’t be guaranteed with business-as-usual tactics.

“The renewable energy landscape is undergoing rapid change. As states and territories roll out renewable energy zones worth billions of dollars, it is essential that projects put their best foot forward through good quality, high-impact community engagement and benefit sharing practices”, Dr Hicks said.

The course featured practical on-the-ground knowledge from  11 invited industry leaders for lively discussions that spanned the full experience of renewable energy development.

Content included learning-edges for the industry around engaging with first nations communities, how to deliver community co-ownership and co-investment ,models and how to deliver value in local communities through local procurement strategies – as well as training practitioners in practices of community engagement and benefit sharing.

“We had a great group of people who were highly engaged with the course and were keen to share their experiences and thoughts with their peers”, Dr Hicks said.

The course attracted 20 participants from a range of backgrounds including managing directors of renewable energy companies, project engineers and community engagement staff, as well as people from indigenous and community organisations.

“This was a fantastic course offering a deep dive into best practice community engagement in the renewable energy sector – I learnt a lot and look forward to recommending the next series to colleagues.” – Lauren Mellor, Clean Energy Communities Coordinator – Northern Territory, Original Power, an indigenous-led advocacy organisation empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities with renewable energy.

“Such a fabulous course. I am so grateful to be able to learn from so many thought leaders in this space, including the course facilitator Dr Jarra Hicks.” – Mieka White, Communications & Community Relations Officer for power generation company RATCH-Australia

“This course is a timely and positive contribution to the industry.” Andrew Dyer, Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner, Australian Government, who helps industry and governments by identifying and promoting the adoption of best practices for planning and deploying energy infrastructure projects.

The course will run again in Q2 2022. Sign up to the CPA newsletter to be the first to receive updates.