Canada Supporting Clean Energy for Remote B.C. Indigenous Community

August 26, 2019             Ottawa, Ontario               Natural Resources Canada                   

Canada is home to several hundred rural and remote Indigenous communities. As Canada builds a cleaner energy future, it supports communities across the country looking to reduce their reliance on diesel and move toward renewable energy sources. Working together, we can cut pollution, clean our air and create local jobs.

The Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, today announced an investment of $2.3 million for the Kwikwasut’inuxw Haxwa’mis First Nation to install a hybrid smart-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) battery system in the remote village of Gwa'yasdams, British Columbia.

By integrating the PV battery system with the village’s existing diesel power plant, this project will generate reliable clean energy to the village, supplying half of its electrical needs for power generation and reducing fuel consumption by more than 50 percent. This project will also result in fewer emissions, as well as energy self-sufficiency and jobs for the residents of Gwa'yasdams.

This investment comes from Natural Resources Canada’s Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities Program, which supports a more sustainable and clean energy future by investing in projects that reduce reliance on fossil fuels in Canada’s rural and remote communities.

Through Generation Energy, Canada's national energy dialogue, Canadians expressed that they want Canada to continue to be a leader in the transition to a clean growth economy. The Government of Canada supports smarter energy initiatives that create a clean, sustainable, competitive energy sector that cuts pollution and acts on climate change.