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https://reneweconomy.com.au/wind-and-solar-developers-rethink-construction-camps-to-leave-lasting-solution-to-regional-housing-crisis/>
"Australia is preparing to build more renewable infrastructure in the next
decade than in the previous three combined.
But while political battles continue over where turbines or transmission lines
should go, a quieter but equally urgent challenge is emerging: where will the
thousands of construction workers actually live?
A new report from RE-Alliance argues that the temporary construction phase of
the energy transition is a critical — and currently overlooked — opportunity to
address Australia’s worsening regional housing crisis.
Unless developers rethink how they house their workforces, the report warns,
they risk deepening shortages in towns already under extreme pressure.
Andrew Bray, RE-Alliance’s national director, told the SwitchedOn Australia
podcast that the warning signs are already flashing. Housing shortages, he
says, are “really pressing” in regional areas where renewable projects are
underway.
“There’s a housing crisis all across the country… but it’s absolutely real in
regional communities and so anytime anyone in a regional community looks at a
new development… one of the first things they’ll think about is, where are we
going to put all the workers?”
Rather than defaulting to temporary workers’ camps that vanish once the blades
start spinning, the RE-Alliance report shows how the construction-intense phase
of the energy transition can help create new homes, new neighbourhoods and
long-term community assets — leaving regional towns better off than when the
renewables arrived.
Drawing on examples from NSW, Victoria and Queensland, the report highlights
communities, councils and developers who are already experimenting with
approaches that treat the housing of workers as a platform for long-term
benefit rather than a short-term cost centre."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
