The Borroloola community’s Ngardara Solar Microgrid project in the Northern Territory has been awarded $8.347 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency today.
The Ngardara Solar Microgrid project is a First Nations’ community-owned renewable energy project, with design and development co-led by the Borroloola community’s Ngardara Cooperative as majority owner with First Nations not-for-profit developer Original Power.
Scott McDinny, Chair of Ngardara Cooperative, says: With a workforce trained and ready to go, we're looking forward to breaking ground on this visionary project in coming months.
Community members from both Borroloola and Marlinja community in the NT (which has already installed a community-owned microgrid) are currently participating in a Certificate II in Construction and Renewable Energy at Charles Darwin University, in preparation for constructing the Ngardara Solar Microgrid later this year.
Comprising a 2.1 megawatt (MW) solar array and 1.8 MW / 6.6 MWh battery, the Ngardara Solar Microgrid project has been designed to assist the Borroloola township to achieve up to 80% renewable energy penetration. This will save the Northern Territory Government 1.2 million litres of diesel every year, offer significant electricity cost reductions to First Nations households, and reduce government subsidies required to mitigate volatile diesel wholesale costs.
Revenue generated by the microgrid will be shared with local First Nations households to provide electricity bill relief through an innovative benefit-sharing arrangement pioneered by Original Power, delivering ‘solar credits’ direct to household prepayment meters.
Over its 25-year lifespan, the project intends to offer substantial benefits including:
- Bill savings of up to 50% for Borroloola households on prepayment meters resulting in reduced disconnection events, and lease payments to Traditional Owners
- Improved grid supply and security enabled by smart energy asset deployment, displacing diesel reliance and building economic and climate resilience
- Delivery of a local workforce development program, including ten Certificate 2s in Construction and Renewable Energy Pathways and two electrical apprenticeships, to secure construction and operational phase jobs and skilled labour for other future local energy productivity activities.
Madie Sturgess, Original Power Co-Director Clean Energy Projects says the Ngardara Solar Microgrid project directly challenges legacy energy systems to innovate and evolve to the emerging reality that First Nations communities are seeking to drive renewable energy solutions that can overcome long-term challenges to energy access and affordability.
“Despite underdeveloped regulatory frameworks and traditionally monopolistic energy arrangements, the Ngardara Solar Microgrid project has driven the Northern Territory energy sector to co-deliver a viable blueprint for genuine ownership and benefit of local energy futures - the democratisation of energy for communities historically excluded from the renewables transition.”