Introduction by Croakey: Appropriate engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote Australia is critical to identify the needs and views of remote communities around solar energy uptake, according to members of the Healthy Environment and Lives (HEAL) Network and Centre for Safe Air.
Below, Professor Sotiris Vardoulakis, Professor Payi Linda Ford, Dr Gopika Indu, Associate Professor Supriya Mathew, Associate Professor Veronica Matthews, Lindsay Morgan and Dr Bill Dodd argue that solar microgrids and rooftop solar technology have the potential to improve energy and climate resilience in remote Australia, but that an equitable transition to clean energy must closely involve Aboriginal communities.
“Greater uptake of solar power needs to specifically address acute energy affordability and reliability issues facing remote communities,” they write, adding that solutions to energy insecurity must also be sustainable.
Following a hot start to the year, where mean maximum temperatures in the Northern Territory were above average in both January and February, and with projections for the number of hot days to increase as the impacts of climate change escalate, it is critical to ensure communities are empowered to adapt.
The research discussed below is part of the Clean Energy for Healthy Environments and Lives Project (CE4HEAL) published in the Journal of Cleaner Production in January.
Sotiris Vardoulakis, Payi Linda Ford, Supriya Mathew and colleagues write:
Amid growing global demand for renewable energy, projects generating renewable energy should bring new economic power to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a recent speech marking the annual Closing the Gap update.
“It’s all part of unlocking the potential of the land,” he said. “Even more importantly, it’s part of unlocking the potential of its people.”
However, HEAL Network researchers have found that while small solar microgrids and rooftop solar technology may have the potential to improve energy and climate resilience in rural and remote communities in Central Australia, appropriate engagement with local community members is required.
This is particularly important in the Northern Territory where more horizontal irradiation (solar energy) is received than anywhere else on earth, leading investors to propose vast fields of photovoltaic (solar) panels such as the Brooks’ Australia-Asia Power Link approved last year.
Connecting solar farms in sparsely populated Tennant Creek to the metropolis of Singapore via a 4,300 km undersea cable – the Brooks’ Australia-Asia Power Link – “will be the largest solar precinct in the world and heralds Australia as the world leader in green energy”, according to Tanya Plibersek, Federal Minister for Environment and Water.
Also, as the NT consumes around 25 million litres of expensive and polluting diesel fuel for energy generation every year, the transition to clean and renewable solar energy could return significant economic, environmental and health benefits to remote communities.
However, amid the excitement and potential flow of investment for renewable projects, the needs and views of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should not be overlooked.
Our research – part of the Clean Energy for Healthy Environments and Lives Project (CE4HEAL) published in the Journal of Cleaner Production this year – explored remote community members’ perceptions of the benefits, drivers and barriers to solar energy uptake.
Energy affordability
Interviews or yarning circles with 30 Aboriginal adults in three Central Australian communities revealed that electricity is typically purchased through prepaid ‘power cards’ at the local store in remote communities.
Disconnections are a common problem as households struggle to maintain power credits in the face of extreme poverty.
Unlike the majority of Australian households, there is currently no access to rooftop solar for remote Aboriginal communities.
An independent trial initiated by Warumungu community leader Norm Jupurrurla Frank and First Nation’s energy company Original Power demonstrated the feasibility of installing solar panels in conjunction with pre-paid power systems.
Despite evidence of its success in maintaining connection, and making energy cleaner and more affordable, there has been no progress in scaling out solar systems for other remote community homes.
Systemic barriers that remote communities are dealing with include energy affordability and reliability.
Energy affordability was highlighted as a major concern for Aboriginal people living in the three very remote communities near Alice Springs, Central Australia.
Research participants felt they paid too much for electricity in addition to rent, as demonstrated by these comments and examples:
- “We pay $20 a day for power”
- “$30 power card is for 3 to 4 days”.
Like in many other remote communities, when households run out of credit, the power turns off. This was reported to happen more often in overcrowded houses with, for example, 17 people living in a three-bedroom house, according to one respondent.
“More people in the house means more power – TV in each room, separate fridge, fan in each room – but one person paying for power,” they said.
Energy affordability and reliability issues posed problems for health, especially during increasingly hot and humid weather.
Climate adaptation and health
Climate change poses major health risks for people living in Central Australia. By 2050, Mparntwe/Alice Springs is projected to experience 30 additional days per year above 35°C.
Without power to run air conditioners, fans and refrigerators, hot weather can become an acute health risk for households.
“We have old, sick people in our house, we try to keep the power going for them,” said one participant.
“Some people keep medicine in someone else’s house when there is no power in their house,” said another.
When power cards run out, respondents reported sleeping outside during summer or relying on campfires for heating and to cook food.
“On the weekend, when the power goes off, some people don’t have power, they sit outside and build a fire and cook food,” one participant said.
“Cooking outside creates smoke from firewood and dogs barking cause disturbance in the community,” said another.
Campfires and diesel energy generators are sources of air pollution (fine particulate matter: PM2.5), which contributes to higher rates of heart and lung diseases in communities.
Solar energy solutions?
Unlike the rest of Australia, remote Aboriginal communities have limited experience of renewable energy systems and the benefits they can bring.
Some community respondents questioned their ability to provide uninterrupted power during rainy days, as demonstrated by this participant’s comment: “Solar doesn’t charge as quickly as we need it to, there were two weeks of rain out here.”
Others suggested more training of local people was required to maintain solar plants and improve their reliability.
“More support is required for maintenance of solar powered plants,” one participant said.
Overall, however, community members perceived solar systems as reducing their power related costs – particularly in relation to solar hot water.
“Solar is great for outstations, that’s what I want,” said one participant.
“Solar is good, saves dollars,” said another.
Ways forward
Renewable energy in the NT is being touted as a new export industry, whether through direct transmission to Asia or electrolysis to make green hydrogen.
Remote communities have seen export industries come and go – often with limited enduring benefits to local people.
Greater uptake of solar power needs to specifically address acute energy affordability and reliability issues facing remote communities.
There is a need to evaluate and communicate the benefits of transitioning to solar energy in remote Australia.
Encouragingly, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has allocated $75 million for projects in First Nations and Aboriginal people communities through the Regional Microgrids Program.
With this investment comes opportunity to right past injustices. An equitable transition to clean energy must closely involve Aboriginal communities in solar development plans.
To strengthen local advocacy and capability, more education, consultation, investment and upskilling is needed to ensure benefits of solar power for Aboriginal and other remote communities on whose land the solar plants of the future are proposed to be built.
• Read the full research article published in Journal of Cleaner Production here.
About the authors
Professor Sotiris Vardoulakis, Director of the NHMRC Healthy Environments And Lives (HEAL) National Research Network and Professor of Environmental Public Health at the Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Health.
Professor Payi Linda Ford, Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University.
Dr Gopika Indu, Research Fellow in Climate Change, Air Quality and Health, at HEAL Global Research Centre, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra.
Associate Professor Supriya Mathew, Senior Research Fellow, Climate change research program at Menzies School of Health Research.
Associate Professor Veronica Matthews, University Centre for Rural Health, and School of Public Health, University of Sydney.
Lindsay Morgan, Knowledge Exchange Coordinator, HEAL Global Research Centre, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra.
Dr Bill Dodd, Knowledge Broker, at the Centre for Safe Air.
See Croakey’s archive of articles on heatwaves and health.
