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Emily Blake, Canadian Press
A wind turbine is shown at a wind farm near Pincher Creek, Alta., Wednesday, March 9, 2016. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)
YELLOW KNIFE — An energy-focused science center says the energy sovereignty of Indigenous peoples in Canada’s north is “absolutely critical and fundamental” to addressing climate change, but more support is needed.
The Pembina Institute is criticizing the Northwest Territories’ latest plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, saying meaningful engagement and partnerships with indigenous peoples should be a higher priority.
Earlier this month, the territory released the second three-year action plan under its 2030 energy strategy, detailing initiatives it says will reduce emissions by 51 kilotonnes by 2025, slightly below the previous target of 57 kilotonnes. The plan includes grants and incentives for energy savings in buildings, support for electric vehicle charging stations and major infrastructure projects.
“We were just hoping to see a much more detailed plan and outreach strategy to really engage all Indigenous communities about how they want and can be involved in supporting NVT and leading their own energy reductions,” said Dave Lovekin, director of the Pembina Institute. for renewable energy sources in remote communities.
“Indigenous people have been there since time immemorial and they know what their communities need,” he said.
The territory’s infrastructure department said in a statement that community engagement, participation and empowerment is at the core of the energy strategy and asked for input from governments and indigenous organizations on the action plan. It added that the SZT government “provides significant financial and technical support” to communities for energy planning.
The territory plans to review the strategy in 2023.
While the NVT aims to reduce emissions 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, the Yukon plans to reduce emissions to 45 percent below 2010 levels by that time and reach net zero by 2050. Nunavut has no specific emissions reduction targets, but there are several renewable and energy efficient projects in the works.
While the North accounts for a small percentage of Canada’s total emissions, many communities still rely on diesel fuel for electricity. The region is also warming two to four times faster than the global average.
Local governments and organizations are leading the way in the transition to renewable energy across the North, Lovekin said, thanks in part to federal funding.
Domestically owned projects that are already reducing diesel emissions include using solar power in Aklavik, N.W., and Old Crow, Yukon.
But barriers remain for many communities to abandon diesel, ranging from the technical to the bureaucratic.
“I think the biggest challenge that needs constant and systemic support is building indigenous energy champions,” Lovekin said. “Really nurturing that relationship and really supporting indigenous communities in capacity building.”
In Lutsel K’e, NVT, a solar project was started in 2016. The Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation said at the time it was the first territory-wide community to generate its own power, signing a power purchase agreement with Northwest Territories Power Corporation.
Denesoline Corporation, the First Nation’s financial arm, is working to develop a hybrid wind and solar power plant in the community to further reduce reliance on diesel.
But its chief executive officer said, after a study by the British Columbia Institute of Technology, that it was unclear whether the project would succeed and that it was too financially risky. Ron Barlas said he is now exploring other options.
“The importance of switching from diesel to reduce our carbon footprint on the environment is self-evident and has been our independent goal … in line with indigenous communities having control over their own generation,” Barlas said in a statement.
“The challenge remains the lack of availability of economically and technically viable clean power plants or hybrid systems and solutions for renewable energy sources.
Another challenge in the NWT is that there is a 20 percent cap on renewable energy generation in diesel-dependent communities to prevent system instability and limit revenue losses to businesses. A May 2021 report found that as of July 2020, nine communities had met or exceeded that limit.
In Sanikiluak, Nvt., the Nunavut Nukkiksautit Corporation, an Inuit-owned renewable energy development company, plans to install wind turbines to replace half of the community’s annual diesel consumption for electricity. Heather Shilton, the corporation’s director, said one of the biggest hurdles is negotiating a power purchase agreement with the firm, a key step before construction can begin.
Nunavut government-owned Kullik Energy Corporation received provisional approval to implement the independent power producer policy in late September, but slow progress has delayed several renewable energy projects.
“Without that IPP program, we were kind of stuck,” Shilton said. “We submitted our application as soon as that ministerial approval came out, but we’re still not quite sure when we’ll be able to see that power purchase agreement.”
Other Indigenous-led renewable energy initiatives in the works include solar projects in Inwick and Deline in the northwest, and Beaver Creek, Yukon, and a wind energy project in Burwash Landing, Yukon.
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This story was produced with financial support from the Met and the Canadian Press News Fellowship.
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