School of the Arts & Media
First Nations-owned renewable energy systems promote energy equity and self-determination
Published on the 26 February 2026
Nannie Kathleen Walker says: “The [Wujal Wujal] Microgrid is an opportunity for us to give something back to our people: education, clean water, power.” Photo: From 'Have our Own', Adam Fish.
First Nations renewable energy can support empowerment, sovereignty and greater equity.
A remote community in far north Queensland has instigated the first Aboriginal-owned renewable energy power station.
The Eastern Kuku Yalanji people of the Wujal Wujal community launched the small solar and battery system on the banks of the Bloomfield River with a smoking ceremony in September.
The Wujal Wujal Microgrid will improve power supply and reliability, deliver more affordable energy, and harness the community’s natural power assets, such as sun shining on Country in the Daintree Rainforest.
The Eastern Kuku Yalanji will be its primary beneficiaries. The renewable energy infrastructure will help the community to care for its people, says Aunty Francis Walker, Eastern Kuku Yalanji Elder.
“It’s not only just going to benefit a small group; it’s going to benefit the whole community.”
The microgrid provides a model of community-led renewable energy and a pathway to greater self-determination for the Eastern Kuku Yalanji, says Scientia Associate Professor Adam Fish from UNSW’s School of the Arts & Media.
“Renewable energy entrepreneurship is a means for First Nations empowerment, sovereignty and greater economic equity,” says the cultural anthropologist, documentary maker and interdisciplinary scholar.
“The project brings to life the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people's long-held vision of energy independence through sustainable, locally owned solutions.
“It strengthens community resilience, reducing the need for external power and supply lines, and creates local economic opportunities through the green energy economy.”
A/Prof. Fish is interested in the political power of new technologies, from the internet as a tool for political activism during his early work with the Native American Colville onfederated ribes to renewable energy infrastructure as a network for First Nations empowerment.
His engagement with the Eastern Kuku Yalanji is part of a British Academy-funded project that examines First Nations rights around renewable energy. He is partnering with global scholars A/Prof. Andrew Curley (University of Arizona), Dr Sangeetha Chandra-Shekeran (University of Melbourne), and Prof. Benjamin Sovacool (Bennett Institute, University of Sussex).
The project engages with energy-impoverished communities – in Mexico, Ireland, Greece, America and Australia – who are using renewable energy to mitigate the climate catastrophe and achieve economic and energy justice. It aims to help advance energy justice in policy and practice.
“Australia’s solar and wind resources and proximity to Asia mean it can become a renewable energy superpower. But Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must benefit,” he says.
Research by Professor Heidi Norman from UNSW’s School of Humanities & Languages and A/Prof. Fish shows Aboriginal land holders want to be part of the energy transition, but this requires support and resources.
“Access to clean energy can also help First Nations people protect their culture and heritage, and remain on Country,” Prof. Norman says. “Recognising their rights and interests is vital to ensure injustices of the past are not repeated.”
A more just green energy transition
A/Prof. Fish began working with the Wujal Wujal community more than two years ago as renewable energy emerged as a viable opportunity for First Nations. “[The green energy transition was dependent on] development happening on First Nations people’s lands,” he says.
“Our focus was on getting ahead of this development, rather than playing catch up in the way we had to here in Australia with the mining industry, for instance.”
There were movements towards transferring the Daintree Rainforest region, regularly beset by cyclones and blackouts, from diesel (expensive and polluting) to solar.
“[We began working] with green energy developers to influence a more just relationship with First Nations communities that invited them to be collaborators, participants, informants and equity holders.”
The Wujal Wujal Microgrid was designed by Volt Advisory Group in consultation with the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation (JYAC) and Elders to strengthen disaster resilience following devastating flooding during Cyclone Jasper in 2023. It was funded by the Australian Government’s Disaster Ready Fund.
The multi-year collaboration builds on the “tireless labour of the community”, raising community voices in their bid for greater energy equity. A/Prof. Fish worked with community Elders Kathleen and Francis Walker to produce the documentary, ‘Have Our Own’, demonstrating the community’s infrastructure plans.
The Walker sisters presented it as part of their successful funding delegation to the Australian and Queensland governments.
The Wujal Wujal Microgrid will harness the community’s natural power assets. Photo: From 'Have our Own', Adam Fish.
“The documentary provides detailed qualitative evidence to support the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people’s self-advocacy,” he says. “The community showed it to [Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy] Chris Bowen and the Premier of Queensland [Steven Miles] among other stakeholders.”
Documentary making has become essential to the work he does with First Nations communities. “It's collaborative, it's participatory, and it's a medium they appreciate. Documentaries register emotionally; they’re accessible. It’s a way of giving back to those communities.”
Energy justice enables exponential impact
First Nations people have experienced chronic under-investment in their energy infrastructure by governments over generations, both in Australia and abroad, he says. Remote communities are often reliant on prepaid energy.
One in three households in remote communities have issues with electricity supply during heatwaves; almost three quarters of households experience more than ten disconnections a year.
“Pre-paid energy exists in rural communities due to infrastructural deficiencies. But if you can't afford the [prepaid energy] cards, your food goes off, and it becomes a nutrient desert,” he says.
“You can't refrigerate your medicine; you can't have air conditioning. So there's all these climate inequities and health inequities that are compounded by the existing energy system.
“Renewables plus batteries can help remove the need for pre-paid systems making for a more humane energy system for everybody.”
JYAC chief executive officer Josh Paterson says the microgrid will play a critical role in enhancing community resilience: “Critical utilities and infrastructure – such as internet, communications, sewerage and water, are all reliant on power – and will now be far more secure.”
Renewable infrastructure ownership can provide communities with capital and jobs, enabling investment in new industries and the sale of surplus energy back to the grid.
“The Wujal Wujal community hopes to invite a solar power developer to access lands outside the Daintree – land that’s already been disturbed – for another revenue stream,” he says.
“Investing in First Nations-led clean energy projects helps build climate resilience and sustainable globally competitive economies that work for everyone.”
International renewable opportunities for First Nations peoples
Around the world, First Nations peoples are already benefiting from ownership of renewable energy, A/Prof. Fish says. Policies in the United States and Canada seek to ensure the green energy transition delivers opportunities to First Nations people.
The Navajo tribe in North America, for example, owns large-scale 50-megawatt facilities that sell renewable energy throughout the America’s Southwest. Their land is a rich source of coal, uranium, water and solar power, providing significant income.
“Here in Australia, [Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are] without treaty-protected land rights, but the green energy transition is an opportunity for us to rectify these past colonial wrongs.”
Large-scale solar farms, for instance, have significant impacts on regional ecologies but small-scale community-owned renewable systems might also prove more ecologically sustainable, he says. The research team is working with Greek, Irish and Mexican communities as part of the British Academy project.
“The Eastern Kuku Yalanji, the Greek and Mexican communities, and the Mincéirs or Travellers of North Ireland all make a powerful argument that many small-scale systems might be a more effective climate response.
“They need less initial investment and are less disruptive to the microclimate. Some Greek communities, for example, are advocating against large-scale wind- and solar-farms due to their negative impact on island lifestyles.”
First Nations opportunities in the space race
Empowering Indigenous land rights does not end with the energy transition, with more and more countries engaging in space programs, questions around First Nations engagement are pertinent, A/Prof. Fish says.
He’s working with global experts in space policy and law, ethics and geography to promote a more inclusive, equitable and democratic exploration. The researchers will submit white paper recommendations to the US, UK and Australian Governments about how to better incorporate First Nations communities in space planning.
Space infrastructure is already intruding on First Nations’ lands: “telescopes on sacred lands, rocket launch sites on traditional gathering places and beaches, often with no consultation or acknowledgement of First Nations knowledges,” he says.
“Because of these tensions around land use, it’s important to include Indigenous claims and perspectives, to ask why we’re exploring space, who benefits from it, and how we can democratise access.
“Including diverse viewpoints and enabling First Nations participation, whether it be in renewable energies or the space race, can support First Nations empowerment and sovereignty. It’s an opportunity to promote more productive and equitable ways forward.”
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