During the recent carbon price ruckus in the early part of 2011 there was a lot of rhetoric going about what a price on pollution would and wouldn’t mean.

Great big new tax, price on pollution, polluter pays…..the final winner in this battle of the story was hard to predict.

During that period from March to June 2011 hundreds of volunteers in 70 + groups across Australia from the 100% campaign went out talking to the public about renewable energy and a price on pollution. Those conversations in public and the subsequent reports, local media stories, meetings with MPs and letters, phone calls to their offices all used a consistent message.

We were calling for some of the revenue raised by putting a price on pollution to be used to fund “clean energy” like 'wind and solar'

Later as details of the negotiations become more apparent groups in the 100% campaign started to ask their MPs that “the carbon price delivers billions of new dollars for building renewable energy’. In June Flyers were made and distributed in key seats calling on MP’s to stand up to big polluters and fund clean renewable energy. The flyers called in the Government and MPCCC members to “commit at least $2billion of the carbon price revenue to fund clean, renewable energy.”

We knew we were starting to win when Labor members began to talk publically about the carbon price helping to fund “clean energy”.

Climate change Minister Greg Combet in late June began to talk about “Clean Energy” when discussing the carbon price negotiations.....we were seeing MPs using our language.

And when the details of the package were finally announced in July Prime Minister Gillard named the price on pollution the “Clean Energy Future” package and announced that $2B per year would go to a fund called, the Clean Energy Finance fund to support projects like  'wind and solar'.

Now that’s called winning....the battle of the story and the billions that followed.

You know you’re having an impact when your language is framing the discussion as we saw occur in the carbon price campaign.....So now let’s get out there as part of the next phase of the 100% campaign and call for our MP’s to “Build Big Solar” and have the Clean Energy Finance Corporation support “Big Solar” projects.

We will know we are starting to win this campaign when we hear a Minister or the PM mention solar thermal with storage in public and when MPs and sections of the media start taking about using renewable energy to manage energy bills.

We will know we are well down the track when the Opposition starts to talk about their policies being more effective at “building a solar Australia”. The bidding war for Big Solar will have started, and I can’t wait!