Solar

NT aboriginal community to get 1MW solar plant, cut reliance on diesel

Published by

One Step Off The Grid

A remote Aboriginal community south of Darwin in the Northern Territory will soon be powered mostly by the sun, thanks to a hybrid solar and diesel generation plant being built as part of the Territory government’s SETuP program.

The Daly River project will see the construction of a 1MW solar facility, that is expected to provide 100 per cent of the local Nauiyu community’s energy needs during the day, relegating the diesel generators for use only at night and as back-up.

It will be built by German-based solar giant, Conergy, and Queensland-based BMD Constructions, with construction set to commence soon.

As well as the environmental benefits, the addition of solar will mean the community is less susceptible to diesel fuel price rises and less reliant on fuel transportation.

The SETuP program, a four-year, $55 million investment by government and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency aims to bolster the energy production needs of remote communities by
integrating advanced solar and battery technologies into the local grid.

Nauiyu is one of the first communities to be chosen for the program – which is being rolled out by local utility Power and Water Corporation…

…to read the full story on One Step Off The Grid, click here

This article was originally published on RenewEconomy’s sister site, One Step Off The Grid, which focuses on customer experience with distributed generation. To sign up to One Step’s free weekly newsletter, please click here.

Sophie Vorrath

Sophie is editor of Renew Economy and editor of its sister site, One Step Off The Grid . She is the co-host of the Solar Insiders Podcast. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.

Share
Published by

Recent Posts

Australia’s most powerful battery set free of massive “shock absorber” contract after delay to Eraring coal closure

Australia's most powerful battery now free to trade its full capacity on market after its…

10 October 2026

Look, no turbines! Natural landscape returns at site of decommissioned wind farm

The site of one of Australia's very first wind farms now shows little evidence of…

10 October 2026

Kudos where it’s due: Australia’s quiet role electrifying the rallying cry for the COP we never got to host

The "35 by 35" electrification goal has an Australian origin that the government seems to…

9 October 2026

The Queensland LNP plan for coal-powered data centres could cost taxpayers $20 billion a pop

If we fail to ensure data centres pay for new renewables and storage to cover…

9 October 2026

Home batteries and time-of-use tariffs may be best combination to steer households away from evening peaks

Home batteries look like resetting the behaviour of households when it comes to responding to…

9 October 2026

South Australia won’t reach its 100 pct net renewables target on schedule, but it won’t be the fault of households

South Australia energy minister hints that the 100 pct net renewables target may not be…

9 October 2026