Woodside secures landowners agreement for first 50MW solar project in Pilbara

Australian oil and gas giant Woodside Energy says it has secured an agreement with the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation for land to build its first 50MW solar project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Woodside and the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation (NAC) this week entered into a bilateral Indigenous Land Use Agreement and a modern benefits-sharing and relationship agreement.

The agreement relates to lands being investigated for the proposed Woodside Power Project, a 50MW solar energy project which could eventually expand to a maximum of 500MW if customer demand warrants it.

Situated within part of the Ngarluma people’s native title determined area located in Maitland, 15 km southwest of Karratha in Western Australia, the lands being eyed by Woodside would play host to at least 210,000 solar panels.

The project itself would supply long-term solar energy to local industrial customers, including to the Pluto LNG Facility which would help to reduce Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions from Pluto.

The agreements signed between Woodside and NAC also set out the framework for the delivery of social and economic benefits to the indigenous people of the land. The agreements also outline the way in which development would include the management of important cultural heritage.

“Woodside acknowledges the Ngarluma people, the Traditional Owners and native title holders of the land on which the power opportunity would be located, and we thank NAC and the Ngarluma people for working together with us to finalise the agreements needed to progress the opportunity,” said Meg O’Neill, CEO of Woodside.

“We have been engaging with NAC regarding the power opportunity since 2019 and the agreements are a significant milestone to celebrate together. We look forward to continuing to work with NAC and Ngarluma people as we progress the power opportunity.”

Woodside is one of a number of big companies looking to build wind and solar projects in the Pilbara, both for local consumption and broader green hydrogen and ammonia plans. The biggest solar farm built to date is the 60MW Chichester solar farm (pictured above), which helps power two Fortescue iron ore mines.

See also: Rio Tinto plans another two large solar farms and 200MWh battery storage in Pilbara