WA backs Traditional Owners’ 5 GW green energy parks target

The Western Australia government has committed $2.7 million to support a Traditional Owner group in its bid to develop solar and battery energy storage projects with up to 5 GW of capacity in the state’s Pilbara region.

December 24, 2025 David Carroll

Image: NAC

As Western Australia (WA) continues its transition to renewable energy, the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation (NAC) has secured $2.7 million (USD 1.8 million) in state government funding to establish and activate the first of its proposed green energy parks near Karratha.

The NAC has developed a business proposal to establish 100% Indigenous-owned and operated green energy parks with up to 5 GW of solar and battery energy storage capacity on land in its native title determination.

Ngarluma country encompasses key coastal towns such as Karratha, Roebourne, and Wickham, and is home to significant industrial operations, including those of major corporations like Rio Tinto Iron Ore, Woodside, Yara and Perdaman.

NAC said the first of its green energy parks, planned for land located less than 5 kilometres from Karratha and close to blue‑chip industrial demand centres, would deliver up to 1.2 GW of renewables.

The plan for the Ngarluma Green Energy Park includes obtaining tenure over the designated area and establishing subleasing arrangements with solar generation and battery storage proponents. This approach could allow for collaborative participation in solar and battery generation projects through joint ventures with solar developers.

“This is the future of clean‑energy development in the Pilbara, a Traditional Owner‑led model that protects Country, accelerates investment and delivers long-term benefits for Ngarluma people,” NAC Director Belinda Churnside said.

The state government will provide $2.7 million in initial support that will enable NAC to conduct surveys, approvals, and technical activities over the next 12 months.

NAC said its strategy would cut years off typical development timelines by unifying land access, heritage, environmental approvals, planning and commercial pathways under a single entity.

“With pre‑vetted land, upfront environmental approvals and heritage management and a master-planned precinct design, it opens the way for power developers to benefit from reduced cost, reduced risk and faster time to market,” it said.

WA Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the NAC proposal aligns closely with the state government’s Pilbara Energy Transition (PET), which supports common-user electricity transmission infrastructure to accelerate industrial decarbonisation across the region.

The Green Energy Park near Karratha will complement the development of the Maitland–Karratha–Burrup transmission corridor — one of four priority corridors under PET — and the activation of the nearby Maitland Strategic Industrial Area.

“The common-use infrastructure approach reduces the need for multiple transmission lines on Country while still unlocking the renewable energy resources of the region,” she said.

The proposed green energy parks are not the first renewables project for NAC.

In 2024, the group reached agreement with Rio Tinto to pursue the development of an 80 MW solar farm as part of the company’s efforts to decarbonise its iron ore operations in WA.

That followed the signing of an agreement in 2022 with oil and gas giant Woodside Energy relating to the 50 MW first stage of a planned 500 MW solar farm to be built near Maitland.

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