Rooftop solar is the cheapest source of electricity available, but for many households, including those that rent and live in social housing, there are barriers to accessing this bill-slashing technology.

How can one town in regional Queensland change Australia’s clean energy future?

For the last few years Solar Citizens has been working in Townsville—Queensland’s largest regional city—to demonstrate how embracing clean energy can slash power bills and create good jobs in new clean manufacturing industries. 

This work has been vital in shifting the national conversation because we’ve been able to show federal and state politicians that communities in the cities, suburbs and regions are all demanding clean energy solutions – it's just good economic sense!

2022 has been a big year with an energy crisis, petrol crisis and cost of living crisis unfolding and putting growing pressure on households and businesses. We checked in with our community in our annual survey to find out more about the biggest energy and transport issues facing them, and what’s needed to ensure everyone is able to access the benefits of cheap clean energy. 

Over 1,700 solar citizens took part – and here’s what they told us.

On Friday August 19th, Solar Citizens National Director Heidi Lee Douglas accompanied Debi Thornton, where they delivered our petition and her Change.org petition calling for Fuel Efficiency Standards to Energy Minister Chris Bowen's office. 

Townsville is perfectly placed to become a low-emissions economic powerhouse and produce energy, minerals and materials to power the world’s transition to a cleaner future. 

First published in The New Daily, 12 August 2022.

Australian motorists can access incredible savings by switching to electric vehicles, but there’s still some huge hurdles standing between households and lower fuel bills, new research finds.

Electricity price hikes and the threat of blackouts have been consistently making media headlines – but understandably many consumers have no idea what’s gone wrong. There’s a lot to unpack about what’s happening in our electricity system and what governments can do about it.

In the lead up to the 2022 Federal Election, thousands of solar citizens across the country took action, calling on all sides of politics to back more ambitious renewable energy and clean transport policies. Together, we helped deliver a momentous shift for the nation. 

Across our sunburnt country, a growing number of solar and wind farms are pumping out clean and affordable energy. Australia’s three million solar homes and businesses now make up the country’s largest power station, and now more Australians than ever are looking to make the switch to cleaner electric transport, too. 

At the same time, Australia is well-placed to capitalise on emerging opportunities to export renewable hydrogen and ‘green’ commodities, such as steel and aluminium, as the world moves towards a low-carbon future, far from being a choice between credible climate action and thriving regional employment, Australia can have the best of both worlds by utilising cheap solar and wind energy to expand onshore manufacturing and minerals processing. 

The next Federal Government must urgently act to capitalise on these opportunities to accelerate the transition to cheap renewable energy, new clean industries, and affordable electric transport. 

I was furious when I read the headlines that the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) is going to let homes with solar panels be charged for feeding excess energy into the grid.