Some 25 local First Nations leaders attended the first ever 'Powering Up Workshop’ designed to empower First Nations communities to engage, consent, negotiate and partner in new clean energy developments, held in Jambinu (Geraldton), Western Australia this week.

Authors: Powering Skills Organisation & Jobs and Skills Council (JSC), Growing the First Nations Clean Energy Workforce, Research Brief – March 2025

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The First Nations Clean Energy Gathering is on in Glenelg, South Australia today with nearly 50 First Nations members and supporters from around the State attending.

In Australia, there are now many examples of Traditional Owners developing clean energy projects in partnership with clean energy developers and companies.

This discussion paper looks at how Australian Traditional Owners are taking charge of large-scale clean energy projects on their Country.

Key takeaways include finding that regulatory approvals are likely to be faster where the Traditional Owner group is the owner/co-owner of the project, or substantially involved in the project from an early stage. 

Additional takeaways include:

• Traditional Owners have a legal veto over large-scale clean energy projects.
• Many groups are taking charge of clean energy projects on their Country, far more so than is possible for mining, oil and gas.
• Cultural heritage is easier to protect for clean energy projects than it is for mining, oil and gas projects.
• Traditional Owners must be resourced properly - to undertake their own wind and solar mapping, to obtain legal & financial advice - in order to best benefit from the clean energy transition.

Authors: Dr Lily O’Neill and Dr Kathryn Thorburn, University of Melbourne, published March 2025.

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Community benefit agreements (CBAs) negotiated in Canada are legally binding through contract law and set out obligations for project developers and local communities.

Also referred to as impact and benefit agreements, CBAs are common resource governance tools that are negotiated across the globe between private project developers and local, often Indigenous, communities whose land must be accessed or disturbed for major extractive resource projects.

According to the literature, CBAs have the potential to help facilitate economic and social development of Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities by providing revenue benefits, employment and training opportunities, contracting opportunities for local businesses, new community infrastructure, and impact mitigation measures.

Although CBAs are only legally required in certain regions in northern Canada in accordance with lands claim agreements, CBAs are negotiated for virtually every major extractive resource project developed in Canada and are becoming increasingly common all around the world.

Some attribute the prevalence of CBAs to private developers recognizing the right of communities to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) as affirmed by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) while others attribute the prevalence of CBAs to project developers managing social risk and attempting to satisfy consultation and accommodation requirements to obtain approval.

While this paper's case focus is on the Canadian North, the authors hope that the theoretically-informed study finds resonance with other jurisdictions host to CBAs.

Authors: Cameron Gunton, Eric Werker, Mark A. Moore and Sean Markey, Simon Fraser University, Canada

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Thanks for use of the photo by Jonny Rothwell 

Australia now has 18 and counting First Nations clean energy equity partnerships with developers.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the intergenerational wealth of First Peoples in this country through renewable energy projects and jobs.

This report identifies pathways and options for First Nations to be supported to enter the workforce in the clean energy sector and be able to access the quality job opportunities and career pathways as they emerge. We are not the first and won’t be the last to identify that employment can lead to self-determination and empowerment of First Nations. 

Our report Powering First Nations Jobs in Clean Energy addresses a critical aspect of our mission: increasing access to training, creating employment, and building career paths in the clean energy sector for First Nations Australians. As we all know, building longer-term employment and skill development — focusing on 'careers not jobs’ — is a primary pathway to generational wealth building for First Nations Australians.

Download the report here

First Nations groups feeling a sense of urgency about the opportunities clean energy can bring in terms of access to energy, jobs, business development, and First Nations wealth generation on Country are calling for significant action and bold Federal Budget ambition at this year's First Nations Clean Energy Symposium happening in Adelaide on 8-9 May 2024.

A remote First Nations community in the Northern Territory will soon have access to renewable energy while also bringing down their power bill.