While coal will play a major role in NSW and Queensland for many years to come, the race to clean energy is on. However, many regional communities are questioning what role they will play in the future of renewable energy.
Dr Simon Wright, Senior Research Fellow, Energy and Circularity at Charles Sturt University received funding through the Churchill Trust to fund a trip to Canada and the European Union (EU) to observe how coal regions overseas are transitioning and collate his findings into a report.
Simon lives in the Central West of NSW and has 20 years of experience working in the energy sector through academia, industry and consultancy.
“I travelled overseas at the end of last year to explore international best practice and innovation in mining regions in energy transition and concluded the data collection at the beginning of this year.
“I was primarily looking at jobs, financial support, reskilling and retraining but inevitably those conversations became much broader.
Simon said there were significant differences and similarities.
“Canada is a bit like us, they are a mixed bag.
“Coal is less of an issue for Canada, it’s more gas and oil. They have everything from quite aggressive transitions to renewables in some states, in Alberta for instance the state government has had to put a moratorium on any further renewable development and that is very much to protect the incumbent industries as most of the oil and gas is exported to the US.
“They have as a nation passed a transition law and a sustainable jobs act to support workers and communities in the energy transition, but they don’t really have a concrete action plan, they have lots of aspirations but no specific goals.
“The EU is very different.
“They have clear strategies at a high level. Overall more than €100 billion will be invested into regions impacted by the transition away from coal, staggering sums of money. The funding is much more focused on a total economic transformation.
“They are leading the charge working with National governments, the National government works with state and regional governments and the regions themselves develop the transition plan.
“The scale of the funding is important as well. In Australia we are talking peanuts compared to what is being spent overseas. Obviously, we don’t have the depth of pockets that the EU has but we are still a wealthy nation so if we are going to do this transition properly and fund it properly – messing around with small pots of money isn’t going to cut it.
“We need significant investment over time, we need a clear plan and a clear strategy, committed investment and clear local engagement.
“The EU has essentially spent two years talking and they have a clear plan, we have spent years and years talking and we don’t have a clear plan which is really disappointing.”
Simon said there are regions in the EU comparable to the Hunter with large numbers of people employed in mining.
“In Poland I spent time with a number of organisations that were there to support startups, particularly around renewable energy, the bio economy, and agriculture which is also generating jobs.
“The whole job losses issue was much less of an issue than it might’ve been in the EU. Like here, there are severe skills shortages. Some workers in the EU decide to reskill, other younger workers drive up the road to work at another mine and older workers can access their superannuation early. Whatever they choose, all workers get their salary paid to them for the two years after they leave.
“There is a holistic approach to everything, initiatives are driven from the ground up. They are listening to communities which is absolutely critical.
“At the moment communities just don’t know what’s happening which is part of the reason why there is opposition to renewables. One of the key things from Europe was that we need to communicate, communicate, communicate. We need to communicate plans, dates, projects and people need to know what’s happening because ignorance breeds uncertainty and anxiety.
“Government needs to invest in communication with communities. Communities can work with developers and government to ensure the transition is cleaner and clearer. This will ensure that in the wake of coal closures communities don’t just disappear.”
Simon’s report will use his research to push for the need for a vision and a plan that leads to action, rather than talking at infinitum and getting nowhere.
