Renewable energy companies are reporting on how they engage with communities at an unprecedented scale. It’s both a step forward in achieving a race to the top on best industry practice, and also provides a useful resource for communities.
The Clean Energy Council launched the Best Practice Charter for Renewable Energy Projects back in July 2018, and in 2024 gave this initiative a refresh and renewed focus on regular and transparent reporting. Renewable energy companies choose to sign on to a set of commitments, which outline the standards they will uphold in developing their new clean energy projects. As at December 2024, over 45 companies were listed as signatories to the Charter.
With the refresh of the Charter, signatories are now expected to report annually on how they are:
- Engaging respectfully with the communities they operate in, including First Nations communities
- Being sensitive to environmental and cultural values
- Minimising impact on agriculture
- Prioritising co-land use, and
- Making a positive contribution to the regions in which they operate.
The first of these annual reports were released in December 2024.
For rural and regional communities who have a renewable energy project proposed in their local area, this Best Practice Charter reporting is a great starting point to look at the work the company is doing at other sites, and across their whole portfolio.
They provide information across key areas of community interest, including:
- Do they listen to and take on feedback from local communities?
- What are they doing to ensure co-land use with farming?
- How do they engage with local Traditional Owners?
We see this reporting as a step towards better practice renewable energy development in Australia. It’s the first time that information of this nature exists in one place, and the first time that renewable energy companies have self-reported on this scale.
A useful element of the Best Practice Charter reporting is also that it highlights some best practice case studies.
Avonlie Solar Farm, NSW
“There have been very few projects – if any – that have come to our community and benefited our local Aboriginal women and men the way the Avonlie Solar Farm has.”
- Brenda Poole, Aboriginal Engagement, TAFE, Narrandera.
Beon Energy Solutions ran a First Nations Engagement Program at Avonlie (owned by Iberdrola Australia), which included extensive early engagement, cultural awareness training for all managers, and the employment of two local Aboriginal women as community engagement coordinators.
This program resulted in over 30 local Aboriginal women and men being employed on the project, the majority of whom were previously unemployed. This program also supported these workers with training, document preparation, and liaising with councils and business for ongoing employment opportunities. As a result, the majority of these workers went on to further employment, many with full-time, permanent occupations.
Delburn Wind Farm, VIC
In response to initial local opposition to Delburn Wind Farm, the proponent, OSMI Australia, introduced a number of initiatives to engage more closely with the community. They established an office in the town of North Mirboo so locals could come and ask questions at a time that suited them, hired local long-term employees who attended community events to answer questions and share information about the wind farm, and brought in a consultative committee. They took on community feedback that led to reducing the turbine numbers from 53 to 33 and adopting lower noise limits.
Delburn has a neighbour profit sharing option of $500,000 a year for the 103 households within 2kms of a turbine, a co-investment option once the project is live, and a community grants scheme worth $150,000 a year, or $750 per installed megawatt.
Examples like these can help demonstrate what’s possible when it comes to renewable energy development and set a bar for good practice.
We look forward to seeing the self-reporting underpin improved and better practice across the industry. Equally, we look forward to ongoing engagement with the Clean Energy Council around ambitions for the Charter over time. Ultimately, we welcome the Best Practice Charter’s annual reporting as a resource that increases transparency and can help foster better relationships and engagement between rural and regional communities and clean energy companies.