Borroloola Solar Homelands Project (Ngardara Homelands Solar Project)

The Borroloola Solar Homelands Project is an initiative of the Borroloola community in partnership with Original Power to repower homelands with renewable energy and support families to reconnect with Country.

Original Power works with First Nations communities across the Northern Territory to harness the transformative potential of the clean energy transition in our regions.
The Ngardara ‘Sun’ Project in Borroloola is a collaboration between Australia’s first Indigenous clean energy co-op, Ngardara Co-operative, and Original Power to design and build their own grid-connected utility scale solar microgrid. The project will cut local energy costs and reduce reliance on the town’s ageing and polluting diesel generators, providing a replicable model for community ownership of power generation assets that can be shared with other communities seeking to benefit from and expand the reach of the clean energy revolution.

Gadrian Hoosan, Garrwa leader and key driver of the ground-breaking community-led Ngardara ‘Sun’ Project in Borroloola says:

“Solar power offers the chance for our people to live and work on country, create good jobs for our young people and help our communities better prepare for climate change impacts.”

For decades Borroloola residents have lived with chronic energy poverty, paying high costs on pre-paid power cards and experiencing regular electricity disconnections that spoil food and medicine, and leave homes too hot to live in.

“We want to see the future of our region powered by the sun, with cheap, clean and reliable power for every household and business in Borroloola. Clean energy gives us hope for the future of our community, and that’s worth fighting for.’

Keep up to date on the progress of the Ngardara project on the Co-op’s website and find out how your community can be part of the Territory’s clean energy plan.