How are Indigenous groups participating in large renewable energy project co-ownership? Mapping global progress

Abstract

Indigenous co-ownership of renewable energy projects is increasingly proposed as a tangible pathway towards economic reconciliation, enabling Indigenous communities to assert sovereignty over their lands and land use decision-making. This is despite limited empirical understanding of the value of Indigenous co-ownership, how and where it exists, and what its on-the-ground influence may be in advancing Indigenous self-determination and economic resilience. To address this gap, this paper offers a first-of-its-kind foundational, evidence-based knowledge of the state of play on Indigenous co-ownership of large renewable energy projects. We present an original dataset, comprising 61 projects carefully curated to establish a much-needed global baseline on the spatial and temporal trends and patterns across technology, project size, development stage and equity share. Overall, we find evidence of growth in the number of renewable energy projects with Indigenous equity over the last three decades across four jurisdictions. Most projects in Canada (mainly wind) and New Zealand (geothermal) are operational, while many in Australia (mostly solar) and the US (transmission) are in the planning stages. Indigenous equity shares range from 3.2% to full ownership, with minority ownership the most prevalent. Our findings contribute insights into the emerging modes of Indigenous peoples' engagement with the low-carbon energy development globally. As an open-access project registry, it provides the necessary evidence to shape further critical deliberations on the role of co-ownership in the energy transition as a value proposition for First Nations communities. The paper concludes with areas requiring further research, including the need for contextually nuanced grounded assessments of how co-ownership or equity shares may influence Indigenous groups' engagement with renewable energy developments on their lands.