Big name Australian musicians are launching a unique platform to fight climate change and boost renewable investment.
Acts including Midnight Oil, Regurgitator, Cloud Control, The Rubens and Vance Joy want others in the entertainment industry to back the venture. It will then invest in solar farms like the Brigalow project in Queensland.
FEAT (Future Energy Artists) launches tomorrow. The collective has teamed up with Future Super to help artists offset touring emissions and also support the environment through the use of solar energy.
FEAT: Australian musicians boost renewable investment
FEAT is the brainchild of Cloud Control keyboardist Heidi Lenffer.
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Together with climate scientists she made emissions calculations after Cloud Control completed a 15-date national tour. The found that Cloud Control’s two-week run generated 28 tonnes of carbon emissions. This is roughly equivalent to the output of an entire household over the course of a year.
Money that musicians and other artists invest in FEAT will be placed in a portfolio managed by Future Super.
Meanwhile, artists can put forward as much as they can afford to boost renewable investment. This reflects the fact that many artists also struggle to make a living. FEAT set a floor price of $5 to set up an account and get things started.
“It is exciting to own a piece of a solar farm,” Lenffer told the Guardian. “To do that collectively, we can leave a lasting, tangible infrastructure legacy and say: ‘We built that together’.”
Future Super: a green superannuation fund
Australian superannuation fund Future Super aims to invest solely in the world’s most sustainable ‘fossil free’ industries. As a result, it takes a stand against oil, gas and coal in favour of wind and solar installations.
Simon Sheikh is Future Super’s founder and also a former GetUp National Director. The only way to solve the climate crisis is to stop funding fossil fuels, he says.
He also claims just 7.7 per cent of the nation’s superannuation can help Australia reach 100 per cent renewable energy.
Future Super became a FEAT investment partner in 2018. According to Lenffer, the scheme to boost renewable investment can be rolled out by artists worldwide once proven in Australia with Australian musicians. This will help offset the heavy carbon footprint of global music tours.
Brigalow solar farm in Queensland makes headlines
The 34.5 MW Brigalow Solar Farm on Queensland’s Darling Downs is FEAT’s first support project in its effort to boost renewable investment.
Brigalow can potentially power around 11,300 homes for 30 years – or 2,000 Cloud Control tours. This energy will feed the energy market with an annual ROI target of 5 per cent for artists.
Brigalow owners Impact Investment Group (IIG) have also had another win recently. IIG successfully challenged a Queensland regulation about labourer qualifications for solar farm construction.
Last month, the state’s Supreme Court rejected the new law, which mandated only licensed electricians could mount and fix solar panels on commercial solar projects larger than 100 kW.
