https://www.desmog.ca/2017/03/28/meet-first-nation-above-arctic-circle-just-went-solar
Meet the First Nation Above the Arctic Circle That Just Went Solar
By Matt Jacques • Tuesday, March 28, 2017 - 09:27
Across Canada’s north, diesel has long been the primary mode of
providing year-round electricity to remote communities — but with the
advent of small-scale renewables, that’s about to change.
Northern communities were already making strides toward a renewable
energy future, but with $400 million committed in this year’s federal
budget to establish an 11-year Arctic Energy Fund, energy security in
the north has moved firmly into the spotlight.
“This level of support shows positive commitment from the Canadian
government on ending fossil fuel dependency in Indigenous communities
and transitioning these communities to clean energy systems,” said Dave
Lovekin, a senior advisor at the Pembina Institute.
Burning diesel not only pollutes the atmosphere, but getting it into
remote communities is often inefficient in and of itself: it’s delivered
by truck, barge or, sometimes when the weather doesn’t cooperate, by plane.
There are more than 170 remote indigenous communities in Canada still
relying almost completely upon diesel for their electricity needs.
But, for some, at least, that’s beginning to change. Take the community
of Old Crow (Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation), above the Arctic circle in
the Yukon.
Despite its northern latitude, and near total darkness between December
and February, a 2014 Government of Yukon pilot study demonstrated that
solar represents a major untapped renewable resource for the community.
Now Old Crow has a number of small-scale solar panel installations,
including an 11.8 kilowatt array at the Arctic Research Centre — but its
sights are set higher. Plans for a 330 kilowatt solar plant are well
underway. A 2016 feasibility study estimated that this large-scale
installation could offset 17 per cent of the community's total diesel
use, or up to 98,000 litres of fuel each year.
“Anything that affects our community, we want to have control over.
That’s our goal with this project is to have ownership over the
facility,” said William Josie, director of Natural Resources for the
Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation. “We burn a lot of fuel up here per capita
and we’re trying to reduce that.”
Josie said his community is excited to build further solar capacity.
“This has been in the works for a long time, and it’s just the right
thing to do,” he said. “It’s the first solar project of this size in the
Yukon with community ownership.”
The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation has a self-governing final agreement in
place with the Government of Canada, the Government of the Yukon and the
Council of Yukon First Nations. So too does the Kluane (Burwash
Landing/Destruction Bay) First Nation in the southwestern Yukon, which
is taking another approach to delivering a similar level of renewable
energy capacity.
A major $2.4 million wind power generation project is set to be
installed in 2018. Three refurbished 95 kilowatt turbines will deliver
just under 300 kilowatts of total power and are estimated to offset 21
per cent of the community’s total diesel use.
“One of the big things for the community is to be self-reliant and
self-sufficient. Diesel is neither of those two,” explains Colin
Asseltine, general manager of the Kluane Community Development
Corporation. “We’re looking at what we can possibly do to reduce our
carbon footprint and move off-grid.”
The wind project will expand on the earlier successes in the community.
Since 1998, Burwash Landing has used biomass for district heating, and
began selling solar power back into the grid not long after installing a
48 kilowatt array in 2003. Along the way, they have been collecting the
data required to inform the next steps and increase the impact of the
community’s investment in renewable energy.
A geothermal test well provides promise for increased food security.
“Connecting that to our greenhouse projects will really help with the
possibility of growing year-round, and having a positive effect on food
sustainability at the same time. Both renewable energy and food security
go hand in hand, so we’re working on those together,” Asseltine said.
While these two communities have shown that renewable energy solutions
are indeed feasible for remote northern environments, hurdles remain.
“Our biggest challenge right now is just to secure capital costs” Josie
said. “We’re looking for $2 million to $2.5 million, depending on the
final engineering and design.”
Lovekin, from the Pembina Institute, underscores this point, explaining
that “the challenges on the technology side are nowhere near the
challenges on the financial and community capacity side.”
Up until now, federal and provincial or territorial funds have focused
on financing initial development costs.
“The first focus on funding capital expenditure is good, but governments
simply putting in money to get systems built has been shown to not be a
sustainable strategy to support these communities to fully develop their
projects,” Lovekin said. “The more challenging part is the ongoing
operations and maintenance and ability for communities to maintain the
systems. Systems will break, nobody's there to fix them, and there's
little funding for that.”
And once systems are operational, their long-term economic viability
largely rests on the value of the Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA) that
is offered by the local utility operators.
“In order for that whole model to be successful, you need a better and
more fair PPA price than what has typically been offered in the north.
Typically the PPA will simply offer the avoided cost of diesel fuel, so
whatever it costs to get a litre of diesel up to the community via
winter road or barge,” Lovekin adds.
Renewable energy systems typically have lower operating and management
costs, and Pembina and others are working to ensure PPA prices reflect
true cost savings.
“The federal carbon tax coming into play will also make diesel systems
even more costly, so there’s opportunity to look at a PPA price for
renewable systems that will not pay the carbon tax, as well as other
externalized costs such as diesel fuel spills, financial bailouts when
winter roads deteriorate and fuel needs to be flown up. So addressing
all of that in what gets offered via a fair and equitable PPA would be
ideal,” Lovekin said.
On the community capacity side of the equation, initiatives such as the
20/20 Catalysts Program and the Indigenous Clean Energy Network are
providing essential training, and mentorship for indigenous communities
making the transition to renewable energy.
Nonetheless, Lovekin feels there is a critical need for “more training,
skill development and job establishment to support the community getting
involved in their own transition. There need to be barriers removed to
have more capacity built and leadership come from within the community.”
That’s where the new federal funding could be a game-changer.
“The real test will be in the types of policies and programs that are
developed and how they are designed to support energy autonomy and
create economic development within and for Indigenous communities,”
Lovekin said.