Will the Future Grid project have an impact on low socio-economic...

The Arid Lands Environment Centre is leading a study which will investigate some of these areas. It is recognised by the project team that solar has the effect of enabling those with the financial means to do so to reduce their power bills, while those who would arguably benefit more from a reduction in power bills are left behind. The study seeks to address this disparity and identify ways to reduce the gap. To take a broader view, increasing the amount of renewable energy in the grid – which is shared by the whole community – does have a positive impact on everyone in Alice Springs, regardless of demographics. This is why it’s important the project leverages existing publicly owned infrastructure, rather than deploying an expensive single technical intervention.