"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", says Darren Miller, CEO of Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

ARENA is investing in a proposed First Nations-led microgrid including solar, battery, and diesel backup for Ltyentye Apurte near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, being developed by Atyenhenge-Atherre Aboriginal Corporation.

Ltyentye Apurte community is approximately 80km southeast of Alice Springs.

The community has experienced ongoing regular power outages, causing an estimated 15-40 hours of blackouts for the community per year.

Ellie Kamara, CEO of Atyenhenge-Atherre Aboriginal Corporation, says the community plans to start construction in March 2027.

"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."

Ellie says the project will make a small difference – about $30 per household – in people’s electricity bills each month.

“We’ll be able to sell the electricity generated back into the power grid.

"Through the sale of that electricity we’ll be able to create an income for the community that will then be able to help us provide economic security to the community.

“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."

The funding was formally announced on 23 April 2026 at a launch event in Darwin, where ARENA’s financial support of the Ngardara Project in Borroloola in the NT Gulf region, co-led by Original Power and the Ngardara Cooperative, was also celebrated.

ARENA says the Ltyentye Apurte microgrid 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.