– Tom Dixon, Queensland Community Engagement Manager, RE-Alliance.
Queensland is racing toward a clean energy future, with more than $70 billion worth of wind, solar, storage and transmission already in the pipeline. But while regional communities are undertaking the complex task of trying to plan for our futures, energy has been used as a political football to create uncertainty.
Following the results of the federal election, it is clear that Australians have widely endorsed the path we’re on of shifting to an energy system primarily powered by renewable sources – and Queensland must not be left behind. The federal election results offer us a chance to reset, to come together in renewable energy regions and to stop the politicking on energy.
Renewable benefits for Queensland
On this note, RE-Alliance welcomes the Queensland Government’s renewed focus on the leadership role for local governments and social impact assessment in renewable energy planning by releasing the Planning (Social Impact and Community Benefit) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 for consultation – but warns this must not become a mechanism to stall or derail projects already underway in the state.
Queensland has one of the strongest renewable project pipelines in the country. We need to stay on track and ensure that the shift to clean energy works for communities, investors and the future of regional Queensland.
It is essential all members of the community in areas of renewable energy development can have a say, and RE-Alliance urges the Queensland Government to ensure discussions around community benefits under the new bill extend to everyone within a community, rather than only being agreed by councils.
The Bill goes a long way to fixing the current gaps in support for local governments navigating renewable energy proposals. RE-Alliance welcomes mandatory social-impact assessments (SIA) and Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs), but warns that good intentions must not wind back the progress that has been made towards shifting from expensive and unreliable coal to cheaper renewable energy with storage.
Our research shows regional communities’ top concerns are poor community consultation, farmers being left behind and impacts on nature and wildlife. This new Bill can tackle many of these issues – as long as the Queensland Government gives councils, communities and First Nations peoples the tools and time to do the job right.
Developers doing the right thing
To ensure these concerns are fully addressed, that developers follow best practice, and that regional Queenslanders share in the benefits, the Queensland Renewable Energy Council last month released the Queensland Renewable Energy Developer & Investor Toolkit.
RE‑Alliance is proud to have contributed to this work through the Community Outcomes Group. Now, as these new consultation processes roll out and the Government develops an energy plan this year, we must use the Toolkit to accelerate progress in the clean energy shift.
If developers show best practice from the outset, it is much more likely projects will be approved and communities will be on board.
The need for an energy plan
In addition to consultation, a clear path to an energy roadmap is essential to give industry the confidence to invest, while also ensuring communities have a genuine, informed seat at the table.
We work in communities across Queensland, and we hear all the time from people who want input into how projects happen, real agency in the process, as well as transparency, fair benefits and sensible siting of infrastructure. And this must include taking into consideration community, social and environmental impacts of these siting decisions.
At a recent forum in Toowoomba, we heard from fifth-generation landholders who told us that hosting wind turbines provides a steady income that helps weather tough seasons like droughts, and allows them to reinvest in their businesses. We also heard about developers establishing neighbour benefit programs, ensuring those who live near, but don’t host, infrastructure still see annual payments and benefits from projects that shape their landscape.
In towns across the Western Downs in Queensland and in places like Hay in South West NSW, communities and local councils are stepping up and coming together to design regional benefit-sharing programs – real-world examples of how the renewable shift can deliver long-term, broad-based gains when done with communities, not to them.
In contrast, uncertainty in much of Queensland – like scrapped hydrogen projects – risks shaking confidence. Industry giants like Rio Tinto have made it clear: they need a long-term plan for clean, reliable energy to stay globally competitive and keep jobs in Queensland.
Research has shown that most farmers and regional Australians back the energy shift – as long as it brings reliable power, protects the land and shares the benefits.
Renewables can bring stability to farms and rural and regional towns. Let’s not let this opportunity drift. Queensland must keep moving forward – with communities and landholders on board and certainty for investors and big business.