Renewable energy and Indigenous people
This paper outlines challenges and opportunities for Indigenous Australians in adopting renewable energy, emphasising successful partnerships with experienced developers. It stresses the importance of building knowledge and capability at various project scales and recommends support mechanisms to empower Indigenous communities in advancing their renewable energy projects.
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OVERVIEW
This report examines the challenges and opportunities presented by the renewable energy industry for Indigenous Australians. The focus is on creating sustainable economic development through the development of small businesses, reducing household energy costs, and increasing energy security. The paper argues that despite limited success with larger-scale renewable projects, significant opportunities exist for the development of hydrogen gas on Indigenous lands.
National context
Support for significantly reducing carbon emissions in Australia has been led by the separate Territory and State governments. Historically, energy production based on fossil fuels with consumers and communities as passive users. With renewable energy generation rising by 15 GW, opportunities to generate income for Indigenous people are forecasted. This paper advocates for tailoring ownership structures and contracts to local Indigenous communities, along with building knowledge, capability, and development expertise.
Opportunities
The renewable energy sector, coupled with Australia’s rich renewable energy resource, should provide numerous opportunities for Indigenous communities and people. A relatively new opportunity, hydrogen gas (H2) investment technology, could store and transport energy. These characteristics should allow many more renewable opportunities across Australia and on Indigenous lands.
Challenges
Despite a developed market and industry for renewable energy developments, there remain significant barriers faced by Indigenous community groups to participate in renewable energy projects. The critical barriers faced by Indigenous community groups in developing renewable energy projects include limited access to early-stage funding and limited availability of Indigenous capital. The paper recommends the provision of both indirect and direct support mechanisms to build knowledge, capability, and expertise across all scales of renewable energy projects.
Recommendations
Overall, the report provides three key recommendations for the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) to consider to enable Indigenous communities to progress their renewable energy projects. These recommendations are building knowledge, capability, and development expertise via education and training partnerships with aligned organisations; supporting Indigenous community projects from concept to feasibility; and increasing the number of socially-aligned electricity customers/off-takers to secure revenue for these projects.
