Government gives $11m to support First Nations energy security

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is committing $11 million to support two First Nations-led microgrid projects in the Northern Territory.

Both projects aim to help remote communities design and develop their own local energy solutions to improve power access.

The first project - the Ngardara Project - aims to be Australia's first utility scale solar microgrid led by a First Nations cooperative. It is co-led by Original Power and the Ngardara Cooperative.

The second project, near Alice Springs, is being developed with Atyenhenge-Atherre Aboriginal Corporation (AAAC). If constructed, the project has the potential to improve reliability, supply renewable energy for the equivalent of around half of the community's electricity demand and create economic opportunity for the community, ARENA said.

ARENA chief executive Darren Miller said the projects reflect the agency's commitment to supporting First Nations participation and leadership in Australia's clean energy transition.

"These projects show the opportunities for First Nations-led design and co-development of local energy solutions, improving reliability, lowering costs and reducing reliance on diesel," Miller said.

"Just as importantly, they help de-risk future community microgrid projects by generating practical learnings that other communities can draw on as they plan their own energy solutions."

The projects will also demonstrate how distributed energy resources such as solar and batteries can deliver cleaner, more reliable electricity in parts of regional and remote Australia where the main grid does not reach or is currently unreliable.

Clean Energy Projects co-director at Original Power Madison Sturgess explained the Ngardara Project will innovate and evolve renewable energy solutions within regional communities.

"Despite underdeveloped regulatory frameworks and traditionally monopolistic energy arrangements, the Ngardara Project has driven the Northern Territory energy sector to engage and co-deliver a viable and replicable pathway for genuine ownership, decision making and benefit for diesel-reliant, vulnerable remote communities and their energy future," Sturgess said.

Meanwhile, Atyenhenge Atherre Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Ellie Kamara said: "The Ltyentye Apurte community prides itself on meeting the challenges of the community, on being innovative, and doing everything possible to improve the lives of the people in the community."

"One such challenge is electricity reliability; in the past few years, blackouts have occurred for significant lengths of time, and there is no alternative if power is down in the community.

"In the extreme hot or cold our old people suffer from either no heat or air-con, and the store cannot open - impacting food security for the community. The microgrid aims to alleviate this challenge enabling a constant source of electricity in the event of a blackout."

Kamara added that the project will create opportunity for someone from the community to upskill and help support the maintenance of the microgrid and other infrastructure.

"This may appear small to an outsider, but every contribution towards a household, and each person employed in the community contributes to the overall economy and wellbeing of the community," Kamara said.

Both projects are currently subject to several conditions before constructions commence, ARENA said.