Workshops with local Aboriginal communities will build capacity for transforming energy transition projects in New South Wales’ Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), which is currently in development.
UNSW’s Indigenous Land and Justice Research Group, supported by EnergyCo, will lead capacity-building workshops for Local Aboriginal Land Councils and Aboriginal organisations in the Central-West Orana REZ.
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The REZ is approximately 20,000 square kilometres, on the land of the Wiradjuri, Wailwan and Kamilaroi people, and will bring new renewable energy generation projects (such as wind and solar) together with energy storage (such as batteries) and connect them to the electricity network.
Over July and August, five Powershift workshops will be hosted with Local Aboriginal Land Councils. In these workshops, community members will receive geospatial analysis of their land estate and other information to support their engagement with the renewable energy industry.
On September 4, 2025, a regional expo will be hosted at the Dubbo Convention Centre in partnership with the EnergyCo’s First Nation Coordination and Outcomes Team.
The expo is open to the Aboriginal community and will discuss a range of opportunities to increase Aboriginal community participation in the REZ, as energy consumers, landholders, business owners and project partners.
“Aboriginal Land Councils manage extensive land holdings, many of which are ideally suited for renewable energy developments such as solar and wind,” says project co-lead Professor Heidi Norman, who is director of the Indigenous Land and Justice Research Group at UNSW Sydney and descendant of the Gomeroi people from North-West New South Wales.
“With the right policy frameworks and support, Aboriginal communities—organising through their land councils—can play a transformative role in Australia’s energy transition.”
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EnergyCo senior program coordinator Tim Stevenson explains, “This initiative directly responds to the call from the Central West Orana Aboriginal Working Group for capacity-building support to engage meaningfully in the renewable energy transition.
“We want to equip land councils with accessible information, geospatial analysis of their land estate, and technical expertise to shape their energy futures and unlock the benefits of strategic partnerships.”
