The effects of climate change on our significant places, landscapes and ecosystems are so far reaching as to pose a substantial threat. As custodians and advocates for cultural and natural heritage, this is a threat that we cannot ignore. The National Trust recognises the need and urgency for transitioning to renewable energy sources, such as pumped hydro, wind, solar generation, as well as the need for battery storage to support these technologies.  

The National Trust Heritage Advocacy Committee has recently approved our new Renewable Energy Infrastructure Position Paper, which has been developed by staff our Landscape Reference Group and Heritage Advocacy Commitee.While some landscapes and places have a higher capacity for change than others, this position paper will provide consistency in our approach when advising on renewable energy infrastructure projects. We recognise that transitioning to renewable energy will not always be easy, and that the infrastructure associated with the generation of renewable energy andits storage facilities – such as; haul roads, buildings, and transmission lines – can be just as impactful as the panels or turbines themselves for local communities, places, landscapes, and ecosystems.  

Our Position Paper outlines that assessments should evaluate both the long and short term impacts of a development, including; funded, future decommissioning and rehabilitation of a place, as well as the opportunity to increase biodiversity of a place over time. Whether a project provides a precedent in land use change must also be considered. 

Key to our recommendations is the recognition of areas of high functioning biodiversity – that is, a collection of flora, fauna, fungi, insects and micro-organisms which represent a stable, healthy and largely self-supporting living ecosystem. We would advocate that any developments that have significant and lasting impact on biodiversity should be sited elsewhere. This recognises that the biodiversity values of a place can be highly localised, are not limited only to described threatened species, and should not be offset with investment in other landscapes.. Therefore, National Parks, nature conservation areas, and other ecologically significant places should be protected from potentially adverse impacts of development. We believe there are also opportunities to improve and increase biodiversity within renewable energy projects that should be investigated. For example; water quality improvement, grassland management, additional planting for habitat, or predator free zones.

 The National Trust also advocates for thorough community consultation, including with Traditional Owners. This consultation should involve genuine and open discussion between parties. It should begin in the early stages of project planning and providing ongoing opportunities for active community engagement, participation and benefit sharing. It is only through this mechanism that it is possible to capture a real picture of the social and cultural heritage of a place, and the way that these projects can be sited to protect the sites of greatest importance. Energy infrastructure does not necessarily have a negative impact, nor a permanent one, but can be part of an evolving and changing landscape. 

A transition of this scale must be undertaken thoughtfully with respect to local knowledge and values by government, communities and private enterprise, to ensure that we protect that which cannot be replaced, but also to allow us to make the necessary move to a low-carbon economy for the long term viability of all we hold dear.