As the energy transition continues across Australia, First Nations people are increasingly taking ownership of renewable energy projects built on their Country. 

This study offers insights from a unique case of meso-level collective action by First Nations in British Columbia, Canada, aimed at transformative electricity institutional change.

We collate regulatory and advocacy text to characterise the range of proposed First Nation Power Authority models and their placement along a continuum of conformative to transformative energy justice.

Interviews with knowledge holders from 14 First Nations offer insight into motivations behind transformative change and how it is shaped by historical injustice alongside practical community objectives around energy security, resilience, and community development.

First Nations narratives of electricity transformation are aligned with the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and with goals of self-determination and incorporate relational and regional approaches.

These findings validate theoretical frameworks of transformational energy justice (Avelino et al., 2024; Elmallah et al., 2022).

Much of the groundwork has been laid by the collective and the regulator, while new legislation has opened a window of opportunity to increase Indigenous participation and control in the electricity sector.

Authors: Christina E. Hoicka, Adam Regier, Anna L. Berka, Sara Chitsaz, Kayla Klym, “Stretch and transform” for energy justice: Indigenous advocacy for institutional transformative change of electricity in British Columbia, Canada, Energy Policy, Volume 202, 2025

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Grid-connected community energy projects in Australia face significant challenges that innovative approaches to behind-the-meter asset investment can avoid. Where dedicated communities endeavour to step into grid-connected asset deployment, however, they do better in some locations than others, with some project designs than others, and where they can secure access to FCAS, technical expertise, mentoring, and even the partnership of an aggregator.

Despite the immense complexity and market risk, there are projects delivering the right mix of positive outcomes sought by their communities. Community projects so often involve generous people doing good work, but not all project configurations are equal. There is no shortcut for energy market knowledge. Caveat emptor.

To explore the value of community energy projects, whether financial, non-financial or a combination of both, it is helpful to understand the driving objectives of those that initiate them. With an understanding of the problems that proponents are looking to solve, it’s possible to reflect on how successfully these projects perform.

We identified four driving motivations, with crossovers common across projects: accelerating climate action; securing energy access, reliability and resilience; building community economic opportunity and agency, and; building Social Capital and energy transition literacy.

This report was authored by Anna Hancock, Mitch Shannon, Andrew McConnell, and Tristan Ashford, Pollination Group, July 2024

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Some First Nations groups are planning, developing, partnering and installing clean energy solutions in their homes and communities - whether it's putting solar on a rooftop, improving the energy efficiency of housing stock, or developing a microgrid.

So, how are they doing it?

This session brings looks at where to begin, who to talk to, and how to determine whether an idea can be made into a reality, using the Community Energy Planning Toolkit as a guide.

SPEAKERS: Chantelle Johns, Ethan Godfrey, Lauren Mellor, Conrad Yeatman, Josh Paterson, Ruby Heard (Facilitator)

A First Nations community in the Northern Territory has been battling chronic power shortages and high electricity bills for years. Desperate to keep the lights on and struggling to get government support, the people of Marlinja have taken matters into their own hands.

The community is setting up its own clean energy power grid, part of a bigger project to help First Nations communities make the most of the transition to a net zero economy.

The challenges and opportunities for local and Indigenous ownership of renewable energy are manifold.

But if we are to avoid the situation that arose with local communities being marginalised and excluded from the benefits of locally sourced fossil fuels, we must ensure a just transition into the low carbon economy.

This means giving agency to local and Indigenous communities - both through Free, Prior and Informed Consent, and through financial equity and partnership.

Here we spotlight the issue of Indigenous and local community partnership in renewable energy in nine countries (Canada, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, US).

Published in the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) in 2023. The spotlights were prepared by students on the 2022 CEMS Academic Placement programme.

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Image gratefully sourced from the article.

Reconciliation is about the genuine restructuring and transformation of the relationships between Indigenous and settler people.

Although renewable energy has not been inherently positive for Indigenous peoples, Indigenous communities in Canada have been participating in renewable energy production, which presents a potential pathway to reconciliation, climate change mitigation and a just energy transition.

This study explores whether and to what extent community energy—defined by deep engagement in process, as well as local and collective benefits—relates to elements of participation associated with reconciliation, both conceptually and empirically.

A conceptual framework based in community energy was developed to characterise and analyse 194 renewable energy projects associated with Indigenous communities. This framework considered ‘community’ as belonging to traditional land, places where Indigenous people live, and as local authority, such as the Indigenous political organisation of a settlement or reserve. Projects were examined by legal form, project location, and control.

The findings do not provide strong indications of reconciliation.

We suggest that one pathway to reconciliation is equity ownership, which has risen over time, although most projects located on traditional territories and Indigenous communities generally have minority or no ownership. There were no projects associated with Métis communities, and only 6 associated with Inuit communities.

Institutional change requires implementation of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and extensive policy supports.

Authors: Christina E. Hoicka, Katarina Savic, Alicia Campney, Reconciliation through renewable energy? A survey of Indigenous communities, involvement, and peoples in Canada, Energy Research & Social Science, Volume 74, 2021

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