Since being launched in November 2021, the First Nations Clean Energy Network has advocated for an energy system that ensures First Nations participation and benefit.

The Australian government has announced it will incorporate First Nations benefit as one of the key principles in the Future Made in Australia Act. Federal Minister Chris Bowen MP also wants to see more First Nations jobs, and ownership of and equity in clean energy projects.

The First Nations Clean Energy Network is looking at the potential risks and opportunities for First Nations from proposed hydrogen projects in Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania.

The government is laying the foundations for Australia to be a major miner, producer and exporter of green hydrogen and critical minerals.

Of the $127 billion pipeline of announced hydrogen investment in Australia, including more than 80 announced projects, only $2 million to-date has been allocated towards First Nations engagement. Furthermore, with over 450 critical minerals deposits across Australia, critical minerals exploration and mining is likely to occur in many Nations.

Government policy suggests on-going engagement, benefit sharing and partnerships with First Nations peoples will be essential to improve equity and investment opportunities for the resources sector’s sustainability.

This session reviews the application of government's policy intent. Are there significant First Nations partnerships, equity and ownership arrangements in the critical minerals and hydrogen sectors, including a seat at the table, and if not, why not?

SPEAKERS: Cameron Smith, Sonja Dare, Jason Bilney, Mia Pepper, Anu Nagar, Darren Godwell (Facilitator)

First Nations people can and should benefit from the renewable energy revolution, including from small community-based projects to large scale export-focused initiatives, and also through the development of new supply chains and industries.

The Hydrogen Headstart program presents an important opportunity to take practical steps to include and embed First Nations in the development of Australia’s hydrogen industry.

The $3 billion solar and green hydrogen project proposed for the East Kimberley region of Western Australia is based on a new partnership between three traditional owner groups, the Balanggarra people through the Balanggarra Ventures Corporation (a subsidiary of Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC), the Yawoorroong Miriuwung Gajerrong Yirrgeb Noong Dawang Aboriginal Corporation (MG Corporation), and Kimberley Land Council, with clean energy investor Pollination.

The three First Nations groups will each have an initial 25% share in the new company they've formed - Aboriginal Clean Energy, with Pollination also having a 25% share.

The East Kimberley Clean Energy project will see a ~ 2,000-hectare solar farm developed on MG Corporation freehold land near Kununurra. The resulting solar energy (approximately 1,000 megawatts) will be combined with water and hydro energy from the existing Ord Hydro Power Plant at Lake Argyle to produce green hydrogen. The green hydrogen will be transported by pipeline to Balanggarra Country in Wyndham where it will be converted to green ammonia. The green ammonia will be sold locally as a fertiliser for irrigated agriculture, and will also be exported.

The East Kimberley Clean Energy project was announced in July 2023. 

In March 2024 the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) committed $1.6 million towards a feasibility study for the project. 

As of August 2024, the Aboriginal Clean Energy partnership had delivered the first phase of the feasibility study, according to the project’s Workforce and Capacity Building Report.

The partnership is hoping to start construction in late 2025, with the first hydrogen produced by late 2028.

There is a massive global and domestic renewables energy transition underway that is driving generational shifts in energy systems. First Nations people can, and should benefit from this revolution, whether from small community-based projects, to large scale, export-focused initiatives.