Wind turbines on a hillside in Wales (Courtesy: Lisa Baker/Unsplash)Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, announced over $175 million in federal investments for 12 Alberta-based clean energy projects that will create thousands of jobs while delivering clean energy to communities.
Once fully implemented, these projects will reduce emissions equivalent to taking nearly 325,000 gas-powered cars off the road every year, the government said.
The following projects have been planned in coordination with First Nations communities:
Capstone Infrastructure Corporation, in partnership with Sawridge First Nation, is developing Buffalo Atlee, comprising four wind farm sites near Jenner, Alberta. These four projects are supported by a combined $60-million federal investment and are expected to produce over 200,000 MW-hours per year, enough to supply electricity for about 26,200 average Albertan homes annually.
ATCO will modernize assets, upgrade systems, and deploy advanced metering infrastructure across rural, remote, and urban communities to optimize electricity grid management and operations, supported by a federal investment of over $62 million. These five investments are meant to improve outage responses and enable customer options such as time-of-use pricing through multiple projects.
Pattern Energy Group LP will deploy the Lanfine Wind 1 project, an onshore wind project in eastern Alberta, supported by a federal investment of over $20 million. The 150-MW facility is expected to generate clean energy for up to 45,000 Alberta homes.
Renewable Energy Systems Canada’s Hilda Wind Power Project will add 105.4 MW of wind energy in Cypress County, supported by a federal investment of over $17.5 million. The project is expected to supply enough clean energy to power 32,000 households.
Chiniki and Goodstoney First Nations and ATCO will deploy the largest solar installation in an urban center in Western Canada, supported by a federal investment of over $13 million. Located in southeast Calgary, the Barlow and Deerfoot solar facilities are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 50,000 tons annually and generate economic returns for the First Nations’ communities. This is in addition to $78.8 million in support from the Canada Infrastructure Bank to enable the majority equity ownership of the project by both First Nations.
Akamihk Energy, supported by a federal investment of $1 million, will investigate the potential to integrate all electricity distribution infrastructure and service on Montana First Nation’s lands into a consolidated microgrid; manage energy flows within that grid; and meter exchange to the Alberta Interconnected Electric System. Akamihk Energy is a 100-percent Montana First Nation-owned company.
The Government of Canada is committed to developing a net-zero electricity system by 2035.
