Low energy literacy is a huge barrier to energy affordability and agency - and it's a big issue in remote Indigenous communities. There is a lot of knowledge we take for granted that isn't equally ingrained in mob households and it's causing unnecessary hardship. There is a mountain of energy efficiency information out there, but how do we make it fit-for-purpose and accessible to the people who need it the most? Well these communities would be willing to have a go at producing their own educational materials and content if they can get some support. #energy #energyliteracy #energyeducation
Electrical engineer and energy consultant, specialising in renewable energy & microgrids | Speaker
Over the past couple of years I have been travelling to the Kimberley to work with the remote communities of Yiyili, Wangkatjungka and Mowanjum. Initially Alinga Energy Consulting conducted energy feasibility studies to look at reducing diesel usage and household energy costs by incorporating renewable energy into their networks. Following on from that I have been working with the communities to research energy justice (the fair distribution and governance of energy). Initially I interviewed community members to ask about their experiences with electricity including their general knowledge, their perspectives on cost and what they thought about renewable energy. Some of the key concerns included: 💡 Households in Yiyili and Wangkatjungka did not know how much they were spending on electricity due to the use of old pre-paid meters that don't record any data. 💡 The only ways people knew to save on power was to turn appliances completely off or leave the house = no agency/control over their circumstances. 💡 Of the 30 interview participants, none were familiar with the term renewable energy. Most were aware of solar PV and wind turbine, however, very few people knew of any of the benefits of those technologies. 💡 The appliance energy star rating system was not understood. 100% of interview participants told us that they wanted more energy education, so in May I returned to the communities to run energy literacy workshops to fill some of these knowledge gaps and to ask the communities how this kind of information could be effectively embedded in the communities. The key takeaways were: 📣 Format - Knowledge should be shared across a number of formats (brochures, stickers, fridge magnets, social media, training) with local languages preferred in some communities and English preferred in others. 📣 Localised content - "We want to see our kids faces on the materials" 📣 Informative - a comparison of the power consumption of different appliances, how much it costs to charge an e-scooter, safety information etc 📣 Accessible - infra-red images and the filling bucket concept was well received 📣 Partners - delivered in collaboration with trusted partners such as NGOs and Horizon Power. The next stage of this work would be facilitating the development of energy literacy materials and media in these communities. This could mean supporting the communities to produce their own educational materials and content by providing resources and expertise (eg sending graphic designers and media experts to assist). A huge thank you to Energy Consumers Australia and First Nations Clean Energy Network for supporting and funding this work. Thank you also to Michael Frangos for assisting with community interviews and school workshops (we had the kids assemble solar cars and planes, dynamos and wind turbines - which they loved!). Thank you to the communities for having me, to the schools and shops for hosting and feeding us, and to everyone who participated.