Fourth generation Singleton farmer Sophie Nichols has been featured in a national campaign that urges the federal government to invest in local energy hubs to help communities shift to clean energy.
The first regional screening of a new short film to promote the hubs will be held in Singleton on Wednesday evening.
The hubs would essentially be outreach centres that would provide access to facts and expert advice on subjects such as renewable energy developments, transmission projects, home electrification and battery storage and electric vehicles.
RE-Alliance, Community Power Agency and Yes2Renewables are calling on the government to fund the hubs as part of the upcoming mid-year economic and fiscal outlook.
Ms Nichols said renewable energy would play a vital role in the region's post-coal future.
"I would say to any farmer, young and old, invest in renewables because it's something that can lower costs and will ensure that the farm is much more resilient into the future," she said.
Sophie said her family's investment in a solar panel and battery system had helped lower their energy bills.
"Farms are big energy users and I can't see producing food becoming any cheaper. The number one reason for getting the solar and battery system was to lower energy bills and it has done."
But she said the process was confusing.
"Farmers are time poor. If we had somebody in my town that I could go to who was knowledgeable within the energy space, it would've cut the length of time we had to spend on researching."
RE-Alliance national director Andrew Bray said while most Australians supported the transition to renewables, there was little understanding of what was required to get to the end point.
"From hosting a large-scale solar farm on existing grazing land, to working out how to install the best solar and battery system for on-farm use, to filling an empty shop front to build local knowledge around renewables - all three stories in this film show how Local Energy Hubs could have made each journey easier," he said.
"We need governments to proactively support and resource communities to understand, participate in and benefit from the energy transformation - and we think Local Energy Hubs could be a big part of the solution.
A spokeswoman for Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen previously told the Newcastle Herald that the government acknowledged communities were looking for better access to factual, balanced, transparent information about the energy transformation.
She said federal, state and territory energy ministers recently released their response to the community engagement review, noting their agreement in full to the recommendation to provide more and better information to local communities.
"We are currently working with various stakeholders on how best to implement the recommendations, noting local energy hubs have been raised as a possible option," she said.
For more information on Local Energy Hubs go to: www.localenergyhubs.org.au.
The local energy hubs film will be screened in Singleton at Singleton Library meeting room, 5pm Wednesday 14 August 2024. A Q&A session will follow.
