Pilbara Solar has entered into an agreement with Cheeditha Group Aboriginal Corporation (CGAC) to commence feasibility studies for a 100MW solar project on the group’s freehold land, just north of Karratha.
Cheeditha is located near Roebourne, approximately 15km from Cape Lambert and approximately 35km from Karratha. Cheeditha Aboriginal community is self-managed and operates independently of Government.
Power generated from the solar farm may be sold to the grid and/or to nearby industry and generate income for the community. An early estimate of the project timeline is around 3-5 years from the commencement of the development phase through to the roll-out of electricity.
Pilbara Solar is proud to operate a business model that delivers Aboriginal equity into renewable energy projects.
Kylie Chalmers, Managing Director Pilbara Solar said, “This is an exciting project for the Cheeditha community and for the Pilbara region. We believe in creating opportunities for Aboriginal people to participate in the Pilbara’s renewable energy boom.
“We also believe in building up to scale. The Pilbara has some of the best solar resources in the world, but it also has challenging conditions. We believe that you cannot build mega-scale projects in this environment until you have built medium scale first. Our first project is a 10MW solar project on Aboriginal community land near Port Hedland, and the 100MW Cheeditha project will be our second project on Aboriginal community land. This is a fantastic project and ideally located.”
In addition to an ownership percentage, the project will also deliver lease payments to Cheeditha GAC for the life of the project and job and training opportunities throughout construction and operations and maintenance phases via the lead EPC contractor.
Cheeditha is an independent, self-managed community. The solar farm will create important long-term, sustainable income from its freehold land.
Pilbara Solar is working on other projects in the Pilbara and is exploring new opportunities to deliver other renewable energy projects across the region.
