Background

Energy Consumers Australia commissioned Sustainable Solutions Advisory to conduct a desktop review to better understand the challenges and opportunities of transmission infrastructure expansion through the lens of energy justice. While this is not a space that ECA traditionally operates in, we were interested in better understanding parallels of building social licence in this context with consumer issues.

Findings

The desktop review identifies a range of opportunities for government, networks, industry, and communities to implement innovative approaches to drive improved outcomes for communities where transmission infrastructure will be situated.

The research highlights the opportunities for governments and industry from:

• investing in engagement that enables more meaningful communication with communities that creates a shared vision for the future;
• ensuring that diverse perspectives are heard, including in relation to the challenges for their place and the opportunities for the future;
• committing to early, inclusive and continuing engagement with communities that is built on trust and enables deliberation, and which is positioned at the “collaborate” and “empower” end of the IAP2 spectrum of the International Association for Public Participation; and
• considering opportunities to integrate community initiatives and to support renewable energy communities, learning from other contexts, for example, the EU renewable energy community model.

The research finds that acting now to pilot place-based approaches powered by new forms of energy governance can unlock a better, stronger future for communities.