Effective community benefits arrangements empower communities to realise the benefits of hosting new renewable energy infrastructure, while also improving investor certainty, growing public trust in the energy transition, and reducing delays in project delivery. To promote best practise community benefits arrangements, PoweringWA has developed the Community Benefits Guideline for Large-scale Renewable Energy Projects in the South West Interconnected System (the Guideline). The development of the final Guideline was informed by feedback to an extensive public consultation, along with direct engagement by PoweringWA with key stakeholders.
Community Benefits
The wider benefits of renewable energy projects are often strategic and shared across the whole State. At the same time, the State Government recognises the importance of ensuring communities affected by new renewable energy projects receive direct benefits from the energy transition. Community benefit sharing involves sharing the revenue from large-scale renewable energy development with local communities. The Guideline has been developed to support the streamlined development of effective benefits arrangements. This is essential to ensuring host communities can share in the benefits and opportunities created by the energy transition. At the same time, clear expectations around community benefits - and streamlined processes for developing benefits arrangements - supports project delivery for developers, creating investment certainty around benefits contributions while driving trust in the transition at a local level.
Community Benefits Guideline
The Guideline provides a clear framework for effective community benefit arrangements for new grid-connected wind, solar, and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects connected in the South West Interconnected System. By using this Guideline, renewable energy developers, Local Government Authorities (LGAs), and community groups can ensure that benefits arrangements are fair, transparent, and consistent, supporting local priorities and aligned to local needs. The Guideline will empower host communities to share in the economic dividends of the energy transition, while supporting developers in building strong and lasting social licence and streamlining project delivery.
The full Guideline, along with accompanying documents, can be downloaded below:
- Community Benefits Guideline for Large-scale Renewable Energy Projects in the South West Interconnected System
- Attachment 1 - Community Benefits Plans
- Attachment 2 - Community Benefits Plans Pilot
Community Benefit Plans
To ensure community benefits expenditure is locally-led, the Guideline outlines that benefits expenditure should be directed by Community Benefits Plans. Community Benefit Plans are strategic roadmaps for benefits spending, developed collaboratively by community members, LGAs, developers, Traditional Owners, and other local groups to ensure funding reflects the priorities of the host community.
To support the rollout of the Guideline, PoweringWA will engage an independent organisation to lead a Community Benefits Plan Pilot program (the Pilot). The Pilot will establish Community Benefits Advisory Groups to develop and implement Community Benefits Plans. The Pilot will focus on two areas of investigation on the SWIS: the Central Coast area including the Shires of Dandaragan and Victoria Plains, and the Southern Wheatbelt area including the Shires of Narrogin and West Arthur. It it is anticipated the Pilot will commence in 2026.
Informational Webinar
To support the release of the Guideline, PoweringWA is hosting an online informational webinar:
Day/Date: Wednesday 16th March 2026
Time: 3:30PM - 4.30PM (AWST)
Venue: Online (Microsoft Teams)
Register here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Click here to find answers to frequently asked questions around the Guideline.
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