After community members started installing solar panels on street lights around Djarindjin in remote north-west Australia last year, local leader Nathan McIvor says they began to see the possibilities of taking ownership of their own electricity generation.<\/p>\n
Now, this community 200km north of Broome and home to nearly 400 Bardi and Jawi people, is planning to install a multimillion dollar solar and battery farm that would generate enough renewable energy to meet 80% of their power needs, reducing reliance on government-owned diesel generators.<\/p>\n
The project \u2013 called Aalga Goorlil which means \u2018sun turtle\u2019 in the local language \u2013 comes as Australia grapples with rising fuel costs and limited supply<\/a> due to the US-Israel war with Iran.<\/p>\n Nathan McIvor, CEO of Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation. Photograph: Supplied<\/p>\n McIvor, the chief executive of the Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation (DAC), said that people in the community are suffering from power outages, and that it was time for energy self-determination.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re investing in an idea,\u201d he says. \u201cOwnership of everything. The time has passed where communities rely on a broken system, and we out at Djarindjin don\u2019t believe the system works for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Under their proposal, Djarindjin would significantly reduce it reliance on fossil fuels \u2013 and, crucially, on externally owned and produced power sources.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that if there is an issue, it doesn\u2019t matter whether it was created by white, black, brown or brindle, we need to take ownership of those issues, we take ownership of the risks, and we take ownership of the rewards,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Currently, Djarindjin is powered by diesel generators provided by Horizon Power, an energy retailer owned by the Western Australian government. Horizon provides power to 117 Aboriginal communities in WA.<\/p>\n McIvor said DAC had already paid $2m for feasibility studies for the project and had submitted a business case to the WA government. A spokesperson for the government said they \u201cacknowledge the significant work undertaken\u201d by DAC, and were still considering the proposal.<\/p>\n \u201cAs with all proposals of this nature, decisions are subject to appropriate assessment and budget processes, and it would not be appropriate to comment on timing or outcomes while these are under way,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, on Thursday, two renewable energy projects in the Northern Territory<\/a> received full funding from the federal government.<\/p>\n The Ngardara Solar Microgrid (NSM) project in the remote community of Borroloola, 1,000km south-east of Darwin near the Gulf of Carpentaria, was awarded $8.3m. That will fund a 2.1MW solar array and 1.8MW\/6.6MWh battery, which \u2013 similar to the aspirations of those in Djarindjin\u2013 will meet 80% of the community\u2019s energy needs. It is estimated that it will save the NT government about 1.2m litres of diesel every year over its 25-year lifespan.<\/p>\n