Scaling up: Renewable energy on Aboriginal lands in north west Australia

Authors

Brad Riley

Files

Publication Details

Riley, B. (2021). Scaling up: Renewable energy on Aboriginal lands in north west Australia (Nulungu Research Papers 3). Nulungu Research Institute. https://doi.org/10.32613/nrp/2021.6

Abstract

This paper examines renewable energy developments on Aboriginal lands in North-West Western Australia at three scales. It first examines the literature developing in relation to large scale renewable energy projects and the Native Title Act (1993)Cwlth. It then looks to the history of small community scale standalone systems. Finally, it examines locally adapted approaches to benefit sharing in remote utility owned networks. In doing so this paper foregrounds the importance of Aboriginal agency. It identifies Aboriginal decision making and economic inclusion as being key to policy and project development in the 'scaling up' of a transition to renewable energy resources in the North-West.

Keywords

Aboriginal lands, North-West Australia, project development, policy development, renewable energy