Ensuring climate Justice: Unlocking the potentiality of Community Renewable Energy in Australia

Keywords: Community Based Renewable Energy, Australia, community owned solar projects
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 09:40 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 11:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 11

Abstract

The transition to a low carbon economy is one of the vital challenges cities are to confront with in recent times. Community Renewable Energy (CRE) is an innovatory energy source in various local contexts, relatively new concept to Australia. CRE are the energy sources in which community members are involved in initiating, developing, operating and benefiting from a renewable energy development, e.g. solar PV or wind farm or community owned hydro system. Unlike some other developed nations, in Australia CRE is facing with the challenges of unsupportive and volatile policy environment supported by a setting of media dominated by climate science scepticism, along with a dominating fossil fuel industry with a centralised system and privately owned business models which are threatened by the renewable energy. In this context a range of policy support and other initiatives such as ensuring high level of social consensus, community ownership and participation are essential. This paper is aimed to reveal the challenges and opportunities in relation to ensure the justice and fairness of CRE projects adoption, particularly community owned solar projects in urban areas of NSW. The paper is based on the literature review and relevant policy analysis from local, state and federal levels. The study framework is encouraged by the ideas/parameters of distributional and procedural justice to examine the justice of fairness. The outcome will contribute to the policy framework and in better understanding of problems and potentiality of CRE in Australia.