On 1 July, 2022, the Community Power Agency launched a new video explaining the potential of Community Power Hubs.

It’s a great story about how a remote seaside town in Victoria is rising to the challenge of power shortages and cutting emissions through community energy, with the support of their regional Community Power Hub.

Why this matters

As campaigners we all know that the clean energy transition is of a huge scale and that it faces challenges on many fronts. 

A clear and present risk is if the massive roll out of new renewables generation, storage and transmission infrastructure fails to gain social acceptance in regional communities.

We argue that to make the transition faster, we need to make it fairer and bring everyone along in the process. Community Power Hubs are a key way to do that.

Community Power Hubs provide a way for everyday people to participate in and benefit from the transition to renewables.

Seven Community Power Hubs had been established in Victoria over several years, supporting communities to respond to local energy needs fit for their context with funding, expertise and crucially local engagement. These projects directly contribute to regional development, community resilience, energy literacy and climate action.

However, Victorian Govt funding for their hubs ran out as of 30 June. From today those hubs are left out in the cold - and other states and territories are even further behind in supporting their communities.

The Community Power Agency's campaign goal is for the Federal Government to co-fund 50 Hubs with each of the States and Territories across Australia.