Social licence for Australian renewable energy projects

Social licence to operate is the ongoing community acceptance a renewable energy project holds alongside its formal approvals — and in Australia it is the most common reason wind, solar, transmission and battery projects are delayed or refused. These guides explain what social licence is, how it can be measured objectively, and the framework Earshot uses to track it for named Australian projects.

National surveys tell you how Australians feel about renewable energy in general. They tell you nothing about how the community around your specific project feels this month. Social licence is local, live, and measurable from the public record — and the earlier a project team can see it move, the more room they have to act on it. The guides below cover the concept, the measurement, and the CSIRO research that underpins it.