.png){kind=spacer}
"If No One Else Is Doing It, Why Don't We?" Retiree Fraser Maywood is one of Western Australia's most dedicated clean energy advocates proving that it's never too late to channel your skills toward something that matters.
Fraser Maywood is an electrical engineer-turned-climate advocate, who spent decades working internationally in the oil and gas industry as a control systems engineer. When he retired, he amazed many of his friends when he made the decision to dedicate himself to renewable energy advocacy.
When asked about why he made the shift, Fraser explained: “You’d be surprised. As an engineer, you’re there solving problems. Climate change and the energy transition are just different problems to solve.”
Fraser said his interest in renewable energy was sparked when his children took part in the School Strike for Climate protests, inspiring him to educate himself about effective climate action.
“I thought, well, I better find out a bit more about it. I went along to protests and got involved in some of the activist groups, just trying to understand what they were talking about,” he said.
What started as curiosity soon became his driving purpose. Fraser has spent the past five years volunteering at Sustainable Energy Now, a Western Australian clean-energy advocacy group, and now leads the organisation.
“Climate change is omnipresent for me. Every time I wake up, from three o'clock in the morning onwards, I'm just constantly thinking about it,” Fraser said.
Sustainable Energy Now is a volunteer-led organisation dedicated to accelerating Western Australia’s transition to renewable energy through research, education, and community engagement. The group is known for its informative public events, which include deep dives into grid operation and blackout analysis, model report launches, and expert panels on renewable energy pathways. Their advocacy seeks to challenge long-held assumptions in a state where gas reliance dominates politics, media, and policy.
Fraser is also treasurer at Electrify Everything WA that is part of Rewiring Australia’s Electric Communities Network.
Fraser believes that his involvement is useful as his industry background and advocacy experience lends him credibility in discussions where wholly environmental arguments are often sidelined by the state’s reliance on the resources sector.
“The advantage of having an oil and gas background is you can understand and talk the lingo. So, when you're putting something together, you can frame it in a way that attracts the broadest audience. They may not like what we have to say, but they trust what we're saying,” he said.
“If you pitch an argument about climate change, you get certain people signing up. If you pitch an argument about saving money, everyone signs up. And if you get enough people signing up for home electrification and rooftop solar, that creates almost a political movement for a much larger change.”
As an engineer, waiting around for practical solutions did not feel like an option for Fraser.
“And then I realised that no one else was doing it,” he said.
“So why don’t we give it a crack?”
How You Can Be Part of WA's Clean Energy Shift. Join Fraser and Sustainable Energy Now: https://sen.asn.au/get-involved/
.jpg)
%20(1).jpg)
Rewiring Australia is a non-profit organisation dedicated to representing the people, households and communities in the energy system. We empirically demonstrate and communicate the cost savings, emissions reductions, and energy system benefits of electrification.
Rewiring Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we live, meet and work and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.
Rewiring Australia is a member of Climate Action Network Australia.
Rewiring Australia is an Australian charity registered with the ACNC with Deductible Gift Recipient status (ABN 18 664 239 196). All donations over $2 are tax deductible.
Contact us: electrify@rewiringaustralia.org
