Mid West councils call for consistent and community-led benefits for hosting renewable energy infrastructure

Local governments across the Mid West have called for proposed renewable energy projects to feature community benefits in a joint statement signed by 40 regional councils. The joint submission, released last week and supported by the shires of Dandaragan, Northampton, Chapman Valley and Mingenew, calls for meaningful and fair benefits to the community that host the important infrastructure. Some communities have hundreds of wind turbines proposed for their district. “Local governments strongly support the renewable energy transition and the State and Commonwealth targets it underpins,” the statement reads. However, they say community benefits must be “compulsory, secure and fair, not discretionary or vulnerable to future policy shifts or white board politics”, it says. One signatory is the Shire of Dandaragan, covering Jurien Bay. Shire president Tony O’Gorman said local governments were best placed to understand the needs of their specific communities and should not be reliant on the goodwill of energy companies. “The Shire of Dandaragan is already actively engaged with a number of renewable energy proponents who have committed to establishing community benefit funds for the communities hosting their projects,” Mr O’Gorman said. “These projects demonstrate that when proponents engage early and work transparently with local government and communities, community benefits can be structured in a way that is fair, enduring and locally relevant. What’s missing is a consistent, mandatory framework to ensure this approach is applied across the board.” The submission asks for a clear and enforceable framework that mandates community benefits, secures them for the life of the project, is administered by the community and is proportionately allocated based on the theoretical maximum output a region has for renewable energy projects. “We the undersigned call on Premier Roger Cook and Amber-Jade Sanderson, the Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation, to release the long-awaited guideline and to ensure that it reflects what is just, practical and right for host communities,” the submission reads. The document is also supported by the Shire of Northhampton, and president Liz Sudlow said the community benefits should be allocated to where the renewable energy was generated and stored. “Decisions about local futures should not be made by centralised agencies or by bureaucrats sitting in Perth, on our behalf, however ‘strategic’ those decisions may be presented,” she said. The local governments recommend that the companies have a fixed contribution per megawatt formula, to determine community benefit associated with wind power, solar array, and energy storage. They also suggest clearly separating neighbour payments from community benefits, and removing inconsistencies in the discussion of local rates.