Hey there, welcome to The Forward! I’m Bronwyn, I spent many years leading social performance and community relations in mining, including as Head of Social Performance at Rio Tinto. Now I run Cantilever, where I advise mining and resources companies on sustainability strategy and complex stakeholder engagement.
If you want to talk about your strategy, get in touch with me here.
Read time: 4 mins
Last week we looked at Regis Resources and found heritage and native title missing from its list of business risks. This week’s company puts communities on its risk list, with compelling insight from the Chair.
At Origin Energy’s annual general meeting on 14 October, Chair Scott Perkins said regional host communities “are being asked to carry a disproportionate share of the burden of the infrastructure build out” and that “too often the benefits they receive do not match what is being asked of them.” He said the benefits of growth should be shared “visibly, and early”.
His example was Yanco Delta, a wind farm Origin wants to build in southern New South Wales. Origin’s 2026 Annual Report says how much it has committed to the communities around Yanco Delta, and how much of that comes before it decides to build.
This week’s question: how much of a host community’s benefits are delivered before the decision to build?
- Bronwyn
Origin Energy
Source: Origin Energy Annual Report 2026 (220pp) · Reporting period 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 · Reporting with reference to GRI and SASB · Selected sustainability information reviewed by EY, limited assurance
Origin Energy Annual Report FY26
Origin sells electricity and gas to almost five million customer accounts. It owns Eraring on Lake Macquarie, which the report calls Australia’s largest power station. Eraring burns black coal and produced 84 per cent of Origin’s Scope 1 emissions this year. It is due to close on 30 April 2029. Origin also operates the gas fields for Australia Pacific LNG, in which it holds 27.5 per cent.
Yanco Delta is a wind farm of about 1.5 gigawatts consisting of 208 turbines, each up to 270 metres tall, in the Murrumbidgee and Edward River council areas. In May it was selected in the federal Capacity Investment Scheme, which guarantees a minimum revenue to help new projects get finance. Origin has not yet made the final investment decision (the decision to build).
Passage 1: The burden on host communities
At Origin’s annual general meeting, the Chair noted that the burden of the infrastructure build-out (the turbines, transmission lines and construction in regional areas) falls on host communities. The report expands on this point.
“At the same time, the large-scale build-out of new renewables, firming and transmission infrastructure is proving more difficult, with projects taking longer, costs rising, connection and approval processes remaining complex with the medium-term regulatory picture uncertain, and regional host communities being asked to carry a disproportionate share of the burden. We’re seeing these challenges first-hand at Yanco Delta, where even with Capacity Investment Scheme support, the economics remain very challenging.”
The report states that Yanco Delta economics “have been challenged by cost inflation”. The risk section on page 56 adds that community sentiment about the scale of renewable projects “may lead to renewable infrastructure projects being delayed or prevented”.
A chair and chief executive have put host communities in the same sentence as cost and approvals, as a reason projects get harder, which is pretty significant. It also tells you the decision to build Yanco Delta is not a given.
Plain English: Origin names host communities alongside cost as a reason renewables are getting harder to build. Its example, Yanco Delta, is not yet guaranteed to go ahead.
Passage 2: The early money
“Origin has committed $41 million in support of this program over the life of the project. This includes a $1 million pledge made in FY26 to support a new childcare centre in Deniliquin, helping to address a critical shortage of early education places in Edward River, and $10 million in Voluntary Planning Agreements with Murrumbidgee Council and Edward River Council to maximise early benefits for local communities.”
$41 million in total. $1 million pledged this year for a childcare centre in Deniliquin. $10 million in planning agreements with two councils, “to maximise early benefits”.
That makes $11 million an upfront cost. The other $30 million runs over “the life of the project”, which starts only if Origin decides to build.
To Origin’s credit, the report separates the early money from the rest. It is more common to see one headline figure.
As we covered in Issue 26, it’s typical for community payments to start at commercial production for development projects. Origin has done something different: part of the money comes before the decision to build.
Plain English: A community benefits figure for a project that is not yet approved is a valuable commitment and not standard practice.
The Frame
So, how much of a host community’s benefits are delivered before the decision to build?
At Yanco Delta, about a quarter. $11 million of Origin’s $41 million is pledged or agreed before the decision to build.
Origin has put this payment on the table before it knows whether Yanco Delta will go ahead. The communities around the project are waiting on the other $30 million, which depends on a decision Origin’s own chair calls very challenging.
Early payments are the developer trying to mitigate some of the community risks before the final investment decision.
The Chair says host communities carry a disproportionate share of the burden. The report is where you check whether the benefits arrive early enough to match it.
Which leaves a harder question - how do you put a value on compensation a host community should receive before a project is approved to build, based on inconvenience and burden?
Two practical takeaways for anyone who prepares or reviews a benefits package for a project not yet approved to build:
Split the early money from the life-of-project money. Say how much is committed before the decision to build and how much depends on it. Origin does this for $11 million of its $41 million.
Report what has been paid, not only what has been pledged. A pledge and a planning agreement are commitments. A payment is something a community can count.
Glossary
Capacity Investment Scheme.
A federal government scheme that guarantees new renewable and storage projects a minimum revenue, and shares in revenue above a ceiling, to help them get finance. Yanco Delta was one of 19 projects selected in its seventh tender in May 2026.
Shared benefits program.
Money and support a developer commits to the communities around a project. Origin’s program for Yanco Delta is $41 million over the life of the project.
Voluntary Planning Agreement.
An agreement between a developer and a council under New South Wales planning law, usually to pay for community infrastructure or services. Origin has $10 million in agreements with Murrumbidgee and Edward River councils.
What did you think of this newsletter?
This week at CFS - Benefits packages
CFS Directors Marc Rowley and Bronwyn Campbell
What a project commits to a community, and when, is easier to get right before the figure is announced. Cantilever helps developers design benefit sharing that matches the stages of a project, from the first studies to the decision to build and beyond. If that is a conversation worth having, get in touch by emailing Bronwyn directly at [email protected].