The committee report called on the government to give regional communities greater control over renewable energy projects, and to pump more funding into building locally-owned renewable energy.
“This report very clearly endorses many of the core elements of the Local Power Plan that I developed right here in Indi,” Dr Haines said.
“We need more funding and support for locally-owned renewables so more of the benefits ... stay local.
The Environment and Energy Committee reviewed the Australian Local Power Agency Bill, introduced in the House of Representatives by Dr Haines in 2021.
Dr Haines said the bill would have established a new Federal Government agency, the Australian Local Power Agency, which would have supported communities to develop their own renewable energy projects, enabled communities to co-invest in new large-scale renewable projects in their towns and underwritten new locally-owned mid-size renewable projects.
The committee found the government’s existing renewable energy agencies, ARENA and the CEFC, “do not adequately support projects in regional Australia” and called for a wholesale review of those agencies.
“The government’s existing agencies do excellent work in driving our transition to renewables,” Dr Haines said.
“But this report shows the government needs to have a greater focus on supporting everyday regional Australians who want to take advantage of renewable energy, not just big energy companies in the cities.”
The report called for the establishment of a new program to provide direct, on-the-ground technical assistance to regional communities to develop their own locally-owned solar farms and batteries, for increased funding for community energy grant programs, and a new mechanism to attract investment into community-owned projects.
Dr Haines said the reforms would pave the way for north-east communities to develop their own solar farms and community batteries, ensuring the profits stay local.
“We’ve seen towns like Yackandandah develop community batteries. But I want every town to have that opportunity.
“I want people in Benalla and Mansfield to have access to cheap, local solar.
“The renewable energy transition could be the next wool boom, the next gold rush for regional Australia. These reforms will help us achieve that.”
Dr Haines called on the government to accept the recommendations in the report and put the measures in place to allow regional Australia to start to see the financial benefits of renewable energy.
“On Tuesday I met with Prime Minister Scott Morrison to request he use the upcoming Federal Budget to show his commitment to regional Australia by putting $300 million on the table to make my plan a reality,” she said.
“I have had many conversations with both the prime minister and the energy minister on this.
“They understand the government needs to do more for regional renewables, and here they have a ready-made roadmap to get it done.”
