A partnership between Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and a Spanish renewable energy company was one of nine wind power projects by Indigenous communities given the green light by the provincial government and BC Hydro on Monday, Dec. 9.
The nine successful applicants are being awarded 30-year contracts and are expected to collectively increase BC’s power supply by eight per cent.
The province has also decided to exempt these and future wind projects from the environmental assessment process, though it says it will continue to consult First Nations.
The only project approved in the Central Interior is the Nilhts’I Ecoener Project, a partnership between Lheidli T’enneh and Ecoener.
The First Nation announced on Tuesday, Dec. 10 that the project will involve the installation of 18 wind turbines east of Hixon, roughly 60 kilometres south of Prince George.
“As a Nation, we are consistently focused on the development of clean, green, energy opportunities that assist in moving the entire Province forward constructively and safely,” Chief Dolleen Logan said in the release.
“Our objective is sourcing and securing strong partnerships that assist in lifting our Nation and its members, while securing a strong future for the environment and major projects. We are particularly interested in those projects that place green processes and economic reconciliation at the forefront of their work.”
The release adds that Lheidli T’enneh also has a financial stake in Northwest Transmission Line, a 344-kilometre line carrying power north from the Skeena substation near Terrace.
Little else is known about the project so far, but information released by the province shows that it is the second smallest of the nine granted approval with a generating capacity of 140 megawatts.
Legal aspects of the project, including a shareholders’ agreement, were discussed in-camera at Lheidli T’enneh’s Nov. 14 chief and council meeting.
In Northern BC, two projects were also approved for Indigenous communities in the Chetwynd area.
The Stewart Creek Wind Project by West Moberly First Nations and Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. and the Taylor Wind Project by Saulteau First Nations and EDF Renewables are both expected to have generating capacities of 200 megawatts.
The province’s new minister of environment and parks, Tamara Davidson, addressed the decision to exempt wind projects from environmental review in a media release.
“It’s clear there are enormous opportunities to generate clean electricity through wind, and that we need to do more to get larger projects online faster,” Davidson said.
“That’s why we are announcing our intention to exempt wind-power projects from the environmental assessment process, with a rigorous provincial permitting process in place, while ensuring First Nations are full partners in our shared, sustainable future.”
The release said that the approved projects announced on Dec. 9 had to have at least 25 per cent equity by First Nations.
Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Kiel Giddens, who has launched a private member's bill calling on the province to resolve an issue with renewable diesel projects, said he intends to speak with Logan to learn more about it.
He said that not every First Nations has the ability to set up wind generation in their territories and the province should be open to diversifying energy sources to reduce reliance on importing electricity from the US, where much of the power is derived from coal.
Editor's note: This story initially included comments from Giddens on a new private member's bill he has introduced. That has been split off into its own story.
