April 2024 was a historic time in the Queensland Parliament. Solar Citizens’ supporters like you have been campaigning alongside allied organisations for the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan to include firm commitments on emissions reductions and strong renewable energy targets for more than a decade. The Queensland Government this month passed landmark laws guaranteeing 80% renewable energy generation by 2035, and powerful emissions reductions targets of 75% reduction by 2035.  This commitment locks in the work of Solar Citizens supporters over the last 10 years demanding cleaner, more af ..read more

The following opinion piece by Solar Citizens acting CEO Joel Pringle was first published in the Newcastle Herald. The Newcastle Herald's recent headline 'Nationals scope out the Upper Hunter for nuclear power plant site' (NH 19/4), may as well have read 'Nationals push for Hunter to become a horse and buggy hotspot ..read more

The following is a speech given by Solar Citizens CEO Heidi Lee Douglas to the Parliamentary Friends of Electric Vehicles and Future Fuels Transport on Tuesday 24th, February 2024.  My name is Heidi  Lee Douglas and I’m the CEO of Solar Citizens, an independent, community-based organisation working to protect and grow renewable energy and clean transport in Australia. I drove here from Sydney in one of Australia’s first new affordable electric vehicles - $38,000 starting price - and do you know how much that cost me? Just $15 from my hotel charger last night.  Australians a ..read more

So you’ve got solar on your roof, but your energy bills have increased alarmingly. What are the best ways to reduce your energy bill? The most effective are: Improve your home insulation (first the ceiling, then your windows) Improve your home's solar access, i.e. more sun in winter or more shade in summer Replace your gas hot water heater with an electric heat pump. Add a solar battery Assuming you have already done what you can on #1 and #2, this blog will explore the pros and cons of getting a solar battery or heat pump ..read more

By Adam Fish and Heidi Norman Original article published in The Conversation under Creative Commons licence Australia’s plentiful solar and wind resources and proximity to Asia means it can become a renewable energy superpower. But as the renewable energy rollout continues, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must benefit ..read more

Over Summer I took an EV camping road trip through Alpine and South Coast NSW with my husband and two sons, to put our new BYD Atto through its paces. By Heidi Lee Douglas, CEO of Solar Citizens ..read more

By Anna Bruce, Baran Yildiz, Dani Alexander and Mike Roberts Original article published in The Conversation under Creative Commons licence Australia is not rolling out clean energy projects nearly fast enough to reach the Australian government’s target of 82% renewable electricity by 2030. A huge build of solar and wind farms, transmission lines and big batteries is needed. But progress is challenged by the scale required, community resistance to new infrastructure and connecting all that new renewable electricity to the grid. In the latest obstacle to expanding ..read more

Solar Citizens supports a ‘Yes’ vote in the upcoming Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament Referendum ..read more

Big news out of the Sunshine State: the Queensland Government has announced their 10-Year Energy Plan including an increased Renewable Energy Target of 70% by 2032 ..read more

For the last few years I have been a member of the Ausgrid NIAC – the Network Innovation Advisory Committee – on behalf of Solar Citizens. This involves attending a couple of meetings a year, by use of Microsoft Teams (an alternative to zoom) for the last few years. The meetings are used by Ausgrid to describe the innovations they are investigating, and to seek feedback from the committee ..read more