SwitchedOn Australia

When renewable energy developers first approached the Hay Shire Council in south-west NSW, the council saw both opportunity and risk. With the region designated as a Renewable Energy Zone and major wind projects on the horizon, they knew the energy transition could bring real benefits, but also real community division. Rather than sit back and let events unfold, they took the lead, helping ensure the community would engage with the transition. In partnership with the community, Hay Shire Council developed a proactive, inclusive process that not only kept the community informed, but led to a clear, community-driven set of benefit proposals, ranging from long-term affordable energy to supported housing. Ali McLean, the Council’s Economic Development Manager, shares how local government can shape the future when it steps up early and listens closely.

Last August, Dr Saul Griffith joined SwitchedOn Australia live on the Gold Coast to talk about his new book Plug In! which shows why households are central to driving Australia’s clean energy transition. He explains how electrification can cut emissions fast, save money, and reshape the way we use energy at home and in our communities. Saul shares insights from his career advising governments, including his role in shaping the US Inflation Reduction Act, and his work with Rewiring America and Rewiring Australia. He speaks candidly about consumer power, culture wars, and the politics of accelerating change. And he makes the case for an ‘army of consumers’ to demand a better deal from Australia’s energy system.

Grassroots footy is already feeling the heat of climate change, from flooded clubrooms and damaged ovals to training sessions cancelled as temperatures climb. Footy for Climate CEO Lex Lynch explains how nearly 600 community footy clubs have needed emergency assistance since Black Summer, revealing just how vulnerable the game has become. He shares how AFL players, fans and volunteers are working together to protect the sport they love, launching practical solutions like the Power Forward program, which installs solar and batteries to slash bills and keep clubs resilient. Lex discusses why players are deeply concerned about climate impacts, how trusted sporting figures can help build community confidence, and the growing movement to future-proof local clubs. And with a goal to upgrade 500 clubs by 2030, he shows how footy can lead Australia’s climate response from the ground up.

At Narara Ecovillage on the NSW Central Coast, residents have built something rare: an embedded network and electricity retailer that’s owned and run by the people who use it. NEV Power, their volunteer-driven, not-for-profit utility, coordinates rooftop solar, a community battery and a smart microgrid so households can share energy, ride through outages and draw far less from the wider grid. It’s a sharp contrast to the commercially run embedded networks found in many apartment towers, where profits flow out and consumer choice is constrained. Dave Parris — one of two people who run NEV Power — explains what it takes for a small community organisation to operate its own network while navigating complex regulations, technical challenges and different levels of household engagement. Narara offers a glimpse of how local energy systems can build trust, resilience and sustainability when they’re designed around people rather than profit.

Last winter, Declan Kelly set out to test whether a retail plan offering three hours of free electricity could heat his Central NSW Coast rental for nothing. The experiment, which previews what millions of households may soon try under the Federal Government’s Solar Sharers scheme, revealed just how far tariff-shifting can get you in a leaky Australian home. Kelly managed to lift the indoor temperature from 15 degrees to a tropical 32, only to watch the heat disappear almost as fast as it arrived. That experience led to a larger realisation: if these offers are meant for renters and people who can’t put solar on their roofs, they will only go so far unless we confront the poor thermal performance of Australia’s housing stock. Kelly — who writes the newsletter Currently Speaking and is the regulatory policy and corporate affairs manager at Flow Power — argues that no energy-market reform can compensate for walls, roofs and windows that can’t hold heat. His experiment prompts a sharper question about what Solar Sharer can and can’t fix, and what governments and regulators must tackle if these new tariffs are to deliver genuine savings for the people they’re designed to help.

Kat Lucas-Healy, a senior climate and energy advisor at Environment Victoria, dives into the turmoil faced by ten regional Victorian towns as their gas supply is set to shut down. She discusses the residents' outrage and confusion over the abrupt transition, highlighting the stark difference with a successful case in Esperance, WA. Kat critiques the government's handling of this energy transition, warning that vulnerable communities risk getting trapped in higher-cost options, while outlining the urgent need for better support and clear communication.

Australia could soon be throwing away huge amounts of renewable energy simply because there’s nowhere for it to go. It’s partly why the Federal government has announced its Solar Sharer scheme – a way for households to mop up free, excess electricity for 3 hours in the middle of the day. But is Australia in danger of building a high-renewables grid that leans too heavily on households to solve structural problems? Long-time consumer energy advocate and Senior Advisor with the Justice and Equity Centre, Craig Memery, argues large industrial loads, not households, could be doing more of the heavy lifting on demand flexibility. He warns that renters, shift workers and anyone who can’t move their energy use to the middle of the day could end up subsidising those who can. And he champions energy efficiency as the overlooked “no-brainer” that cuts bills, emissions and peak demand for everyone.

Andrew Bray, the National Director of RE-Alliance, is an expert in community engagement for renewable energy projects. He discusses the urgent housing crisis in regional Australia exacerbated by the renewable construction boom. Bray presents innovative solutions, like repurposing aged-care facilities and creating sustainable housing legacies in Rockhampton. He emphasizes the need for local councils to prepare for incoming workforce needs, arguing that effective housing strategies can turn projects into lasting community benefits, rather than just temporary camps.

Parents for Climate CEO Nic Seton unpacks the next chapter in the group’s fight against misleading climate claims. After securing a major settlement against Energy Australia earlier this year — which led to an apology to 400,000 customers and the withdrawal of the company’s Go Neutral product — the Parents have turned their sights to the claims made by other energy retailers, and the government sanctioned Climate Active scheme that endorsed it. Their new report reveals that one in three major retailers are making potentially misleading claims — and they name who they are. Nic explains why the government-backed standard isn’t fit for purpose, and how it’s enabling energy retailers to market products that look green but don’t stack up.

This week’s hearings of the Senate inquiry on information integrity on climate and energy revealed how deeply divided the national conversation about renewables has become. Even as Australia accelerates the rollout of new transmission lines, solar farms and wind projects, many regional communities feel that change is happening to them, not with them. Professor Sara Bice from the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University has spent years studying how governments, industry and communities can collaborate to deliver large-scale infrastructure in ways that are fair, transparent and socially sustainable. Her research shows that while most Australians support the energy transition, they want it to be fair and just — and that the number one driver of public acceptance for new infrastructure isn’t technology or money, but confidence in the regulation that governs it.