This week’s hearings of the Senate inquiry on information integrity on climate and energy revealed how deeply divided the national conversation about renewables has become. Even as Australia accelerates the rollout of new transmission lines, solar farms and wind projects, many regional communities feel that change is happening to them, not with them. Professor Sara Bice from the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University has spent years studying how governments, industry and communities can collaborate to deliver large-scale infrastructure in ways that are fair, transparent and socially sustainable. Her research shows that while most Australians support the energy transition, they want it to be fair and just — and that the number one driver of public acceptance for new infrastructure isn’t technology or money, but confidence in the regulation that governs it.


The power of good rules – how regulation builds trust in the energy transition

Australia has more than $4 trillion in retirement savings but little of this finds its way to clean energy. Strategist Jeremy Cooper has an idea to fix this. Plus: The Super battery's not so super moment, and a rush of new projects.

Where the bloody hell is our super?

Parents for Climate CEO Nic Seton  unpacks the next chapter in the group’s fight against misleading climate claims. After securing a major settlement against Energy Australia earlier this year — which led to an apology to 400,000 customers and the withdrawal of the company’s Go Neutral product — the Parents have turned their sights to the claims made by other energy retailers, and the government sanctioned Climate Active scheme that endorsed it. Their new report reveals that one in three major retailers are making potentially misleading claims — and they name who they are. Nic explains why the government-backed standard isn’t fit for purpose, and how it’s enabling energy retailers to market products that look green but don’t stack up. 

1 in 3 energy retailers potentially greenwashing – and the government program that let’s them

Neeraj Das from ElecSome on the huge economic and resource opportunity solar recycling presents for Australia – and how close we are to stuffing it up. Plus news of the week.

Silicon, silver and sliding doors

We dissect Labor’s proposed environmental reforms with the help of Ashurst legal expert Jeff Lynn. Plus: News of the week, and is the CIS working?

Are Labor's environmental laws any good?

Australia is on the cusp of building more renewable infrastructure in the next decade than in the previous three combined, but the way we build it could make or break regional communities. One of the biggest challenges isn’t turbines or a transmission towers, it’s housing: where will thousands of construction workers live in towns already in a housing crisis. A new report from RE-Alliance argues worker accommodation doesn’t have to be a burden — it can become an important community benefit that a project leaves behind. From refurbishing disused aged-care homes in Wellington, to turning workforce villages into future suburbs in Rockhampton and Gracemere, to councils like Uralla planning for housing long before the workers arrive, there’s a shift happening in how some developers think about construction. RE-Alliance’s national director, Andrew Bray, discusses how the energy transition can bring a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

How the renewable construction boom can help fix the crisis in regional housing

Frank Calabria, the CEO of Australia's biggest retailer, discusses plans for the country's biggest wind farm, its biggest battery and the biggest coal generator. Plus: News of the week including EPBC and AEMO transition plan.

Origin CEO Frank Calabria's big energy vision

Australia could soon be throwing away huge amounts of renewable energy simply because there’s nowhere for it to go. It’s partly why the Federal government has announced its Solar Sharer scheme – a way for households to mop up free, excess electricity for 3 hours in the middle of the day. But is Australia in danger of building a high-renewables grid that leans too heavily on households to solve structural problems? Long-time consumer energy advocate and Senior Advisor with the Justice and Equity Centre, Craig Memery, argues large industrial loads, not households, could be doing more of the heavy lifting on demand flexibility. He warns that renters, shift workers and anyone who can’t move their energy use to the middle of the day could end up subsidising those who can. And he champions energy efficiency as the overlooked “no-brainer” that cuts bills, emissions and peak demand for everyone.

Are households becoming shock absorbers for the energy transition?

GoodWe's Dean Williamson gives an insider's view of the home battery boom, talks new products, and sends brand growth through to the keeper. Plus news of the week.

Riding the home battery wave

Energy systems expert Bruce Miller explains why spinning machines won't be needed in future grid, while regional independent MP Helen Haines says developers should drop the spin and focus on community benefits.

No spin needed for renewable gold rush

Join Anne Delaney as she tracks the electrification of everything with people at the forefront of the electrification transition.

How the renewable construction boom can help fix the crisis in regional housing

SwitchedOn Australia

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