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https://reneweconomy.com.au/co-ownership-vs-consultation-landmark-report-proposes-faster-cheaper-paths-to-renewables/>
"Renewable energy developers could slash the time lost to planning processes
and local opposition, if they started to look at communities as partners rather
than people to consult with.
The difference is spelled out in a landmark report from the Community Power
Agency (CPA), which calls on developers to start considering everything from
co-ownership to joint governance.
Bringing in communities at this level is still relatively untested in
Australia, but there are a growing range of local examples to learn from and
these can reap outsized financial benefits, says consultant Satya Tanner.
Co-ownership, for example, may not be the cheapest form of finance for a wind,
solar or battery project, she says, but local knowledge has other economic
benefits.
For example, community ownership could cut planning times, by tapping deep
local knowledge about areas that will be environmentally and culturally
sensitive, and reducing the risk of organisational opposition.
“For a lot of developers it can feel a little bit in the too hard basket
because it’s an unknown,” she told
Renew Economy.
“And yet co-ownership brings goodwill, which then reduces the risk of
communities organising against them. It speeds up the project and costs the
developer less, but it’s not as immediately obvious to the bottom line.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
