Communities across the far north of Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory will have access to renewable energy under a $28million joint venture program underwritten by the Federal and State governments.

The only renewable energy centre of its kind in Australia, ACRE will develop the project in partnership with Alice Springs based Centre for Appropriate Technology and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC).

ACRE managing director, Frank Reid, said the project, which took two years to plan, “will significantly improve the quality of life of people who have no energy supply, and those who use diesel systems will benefit from a cleaner source of power.”

ATSIC spokesman Richard Preece said more than 50 per cent of the 240 small remote Aboriginal communities in the top end of Australia to benefit from the funding were in Western Australia.

ATSIC currently provides funds to around 112 Aboriginal communities for the delivery of water and power supplies and diesel fuel for power generation.

In an additional vote of confidence in its operations, ACRE was recently awarded $491,000 to establish a standards laboratory to address the lack of national and international standards for renewable energy systems testing.

Dr Reid said the grant was “truly exceptional” as it was almost double the usual maximum grant awarded and would be used in part to buy a photovoltaic sunshine simulator from Germany.

In an industry operating with few formal standards, the grant was intended to ensure Australian products developed in harmony with overseas standards, he said.

“The US and Europe are in the process of standards development and this grant will enable us to engage with this process.”