– Toby Thorpe, Community Engagement Manager, Tasmania, RE-Alliance. Our transition to renewable energy presents opportunities to strengthen regional communities across the country, and make them thriving and resilient. But what does the energy transition...

– Neville Mattick, Community Engagement Manager, Central-West Orana REZ, RE-Alliance. With a fire raging near Tambaroora NSW, the management team of the local Crudine Ridge Wind Farm made a surprise visit to the Hargraves...

Think of your favourite place in nature in Australia. Is it the Great Barrier Reef? Or the Outback? Maybe our tropical rainforests? Whatever your answer is, it’s an example of the scale of biodiversity...

– Lu Allan, Advocacy Manager, RE-Alliance. On the weekend, I went up to visit Lake Morris just outside of Cairns, however I may or may not have become slightly distracted by this tall boy....

A new payment scheme for Victorian farmers and landholders hosting transmission lines on their properties has been welcomed by community advocacy organisation, RE-Alliance. Under the scheme landholders will receive a $200,000 per kilometre payment,...

Last Friday, we hosted a fruitful discussion in Dubbo on community benefits funding for the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ). RE-Alliance is working in the Central-West Orana REZ to ensure that communities hosting...

Reflecting local community needs, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) announced a new preferred route for the critical VNI West transmission line earlier today. RE-Alliance, an independent community-based organisation, welcomes this change as it...

The Victorian Government will use its powers to speed up the development of VNI West, the vital new interconnector between the Victorian and New South Wales electricity grids, and will engage communities to shape...

– Kate Kotarska, Policy Manager, RE-Alliance. This is my final blog for RE-Alliance, as I start a new position with the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on Monday....

We thank the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) for the opportunity to comment on the Draft 2023 Inputs, Assumptions and Scenarios Report (the IASR). The IASR includes key information and context for the inputs and...

We thank energy market officials for the opportunity to comment on the Incorporating an Emissions Reduction Objective into the National Energy Objectives Consultation Paper. RE-Alliance supports the proposed changes to the National Energy Objectives....

RE-Alliance thanks the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water for considering our submission in its development of the National Reconstruction Fund. We applaud the Government for committing to its climate target...

– Kate Kotarska, Policy Manager, RE-Alliance. Our last blog looked at the recommendations from our Building Trust for Transmission report that have been implemented, and that have led to transmission-related reforms over the last...

– Kate Kotarska, Policy Manager, RE-Alliance. Published in July 2021, our Building Trust for Transmission report made a series of recommendations to improve outcomes for local communities in the roll-out of transmission lines, including...

We thank the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water for considering our submission in the development of the Powering the Regions Fund. We applaud the Government for committing to its climate...

RE-Alliance was born ten years ago as the Victorian Wind Alliance. Since then we have worked with numerous people who are passionate about renewable energy: landholders, regional community groups and renewable energy companies who...

Earlier today, the Tasmanian government announced the start of the state’s first Renewable Energy Zone. RE-Alliance, an independent community-based organisation, welcomes this announcement as an opportunity to bring community interests and priorities into the...

– Andrew Bray, National Director, RE-Alliance. As 2022 draws to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you the dramatic changes these 12 months have brought and the way...

Labor was returned to power in the Victorian state election on the weekend. With all the focus on the popularity or otherwise of the Premier, one aspect that may have been overlooked is that...

We thank the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth for the opportunity to make a submission to the Committee’s Inquiry Into Australia’s Transition to a Green Energy Superpower. Read full submission. As...

Governments around the world have instituted Transition Authorities as a key mechanism to make sure workers and communities are active participants and beneficiaries of our future energy system. RE-Alliance applauds this move towards a...

International climate meetings often happen a long way from home, and it can be hard to see how they impact regional communities in Australia. So, what can we take from the 27th annual climate...

RE-Alliance has welcomed the recent release of the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (the Commission’s) Final Report of Stage 2 of the Transmission Planning and Investment Review. We particularly welcome recommendations concerning improved transmission company...

This submission is to the Tasmanian Government’s Renewables, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania (ReCFIT) in regard to the recently released Draft Guidelines for Community Engagement, Benefit Sharing and Local Procurement (referred to as the...

Download full submission. We thank the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) for the opportunity to comment on the Draft Report into Transmission Planning and Investment Review (TPIR)- Stage 3. We have several overarching comments....

View full submission. We thank the NSW Government for the opportunity to comment on the Draft Network Infrastructure Strategy (NIS). We consider that the Draft NIS adds value and that it should in future...

We are really pleased to see the amount of attention this budget gives to regions, workers, First Nations people and community energy. We would like to see more support for communities in Renewable Energy...

A new payment scheme for NSW farmers and landholders hosting transmission lines on their properties has been welcomed by RE-Alliance as a start to reward landholders for their critical part in the energy transformation....

– Tony Goodfellow, VIC/TAS Coordinator, RE-Alliance. Last week, the Victorian Government made some huge and welcome commitments for our renewable energy future, provided they are re-elected in November.  State Electricity Commission In a historic...

– Kate Healey, Policy Manager, RE-Alliance. The first announcements under the Albanese government’s Rewiring the Nation program were released on Wednesday and they are BIG!! So big, in fact, that Minister for Climate Change...

Read 'Farm Powered: Opportunities for regional communities in the renewable energy boom'. Our energy and food systems are increasingly intertwined. But are we really designing these systems for maximum mutual benefit? And how do...

October 4, 2022 A group of 30 environment and climate organisations have today released recommendations to the Federal Government on the design of the Rewiring the Nation Policy. Download the full paper here. The...

– Lu Allen, Advocacy Manager, RE-Alliance, based in Cairns. Today marks a historic turning point for Queensland's energy system.  Today, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the long awaited Queensland Power Plan, which she titled a...

– Tony Goodfellow, Victoria/Tasmania Coordinator, RE-Alliance. Last month, I attended the inaugural Gippsland New Energy Conference (GNEC). It was the largest regional energy transition event in Australia to date. It couldn’t be more timely...

To build an energy transformation that works for everyone, we need renewable energy developers who know how to work well with communities. It’s crucial that developers have the skills to sensitively manage community concerns,...

- Kate Healey, Policy Manager, RE-Alliance. To get to a net-zero future, we need to build an immense amount of new renewable energy infrastructure, and quickly. In particular, we need to build a lot...

 – Tony Goodfellow, VIC/TAS Coordinator, RE-Alliance. I had the pleasure of recently attending the inaugural First Nations Clean Energy Symposium, ‘People, Country, Opportunity’ with RE-Alliance’s National Director Andrew Bray. We were honoured to attend...

Blind Creek Solar Farm in New South Wales has sheep built in and great community engagement practice – and it recently won an award for it.  Blind Creek Solar Farm (BCSF) was awarded the Clean...

Some momentous strides forward for our renewable energy future were made on Friday. Federal, State and Territory Energy Ministers had their second meeting under the new Albanese government. They formed a new National Energy...

We thank the Victorian Government for the opportunity to comment on the Victorian Transmission Investment Framework Preliminary Design Consultation Paper (VTIF Paper). We commend VicGrid on the substantial work that has been involved in...