Throughout Saskatchewan, Indigenous communities are pursuing clean energy projects for direct economic development and to improve energy reliability so their communities can grow and thrive. The Saskatchewan Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative (SICEI), supported by PrairiesCan and Indigenous Services Canada, was started in January 2023 to fill funding gaps in Indigenous-led projects and build greater participation in the sector.
Indigenous communities and organizations coming to the initiative identified a need for greater legal, technical, and feasibility capacity to ensure their projects have strong partnership agreements, reduce risks, and ensure they benefit from long-term revenue generation and employment opportunities. The resulting capacity improvements helped to move projects from early concept stages to implementation so they could grow their teams and their projects to expand economic opportunities in the clean energy sector and beyond.
With investments totaling $7.7M to date, SICEI has supported 57 projects in more than 33 communities. They span areas such as large-scale renewable energy installations, behind-the-meter clean energy projects, energy planning, community-owned energy production, and training for clean energy employment opportunities. Many of these initial investments have led to further investment by Indigenous organizations, numerous levels of government, and industry to create an even larger impact.
With one remaining year of funding, SICEI looks forward to continuing to support Indigenous-led clean energy projects as they capitalize on economic development opportunities that align with their values and connection to their lands and the environment.
Government of Canada supports Indigenous participation in clean energy (length: 6:18 minutes)
Transcript: Government of Canada supports Indigenous participation in clean energy
[Sober music begins]
[Video begins with drone footage of the forest at dawn, with an owl hooting in the distance. The video pans to a close-up of a lake covered in morning fog].
Narrator: As nations, we’re always looking for opportunities for environmental sustainability, jobs and revenue generation, and renewables fit into that.
[Video transitions to a woman sitting in a room talking to the camera]
Narrator: So, we received PPAs for a 100-megawatt solar project and a 200-megawatt wind project.
[Video transitions to a wind turbine in a field with several solar panels]
Narrator: Seven Stars Project is a 200-megawatt going to be located near Weyburn, Saskatchewan.
[Video transitions to a man standing in a field talking to the camera]
Narrator: It’s a partnership with Enbridge and six other Indigenous communities within Saskatchewan.
[Video transitions to the wind turbine and solar panels in the field]
Narrator: We’re focused on bringing holistic energy for Indigenous energy sovereignty.
[Video transitions to a man speaking to the camera in a room. The music picks up into a sweeping classical tempo]
Narrator: So, we started this idea of energy sovereignty but recognizing that doing something like a solar project would be a great first step.
[Video transitions to drone footage zooming in on a field with solar panels in the middle of a forest area].
Narrator: George Gordon developments is the business arm like I stated, and we have four different pillars.
[Video transitions to a man in a suit in an office]
Narrator: And in our own business strategic plan, a five-year plan, and of course, renewable energy is one of them.
[Video transitions to an aerial view of a large area]
[Music changes, slows to mid-tempo music, guitar strumming]
Text on screen: George Gordon Development Ltd. Wicehtowak Project, Bethune, SK
[Video transitions to tractors, trucks and heavy vehicles in a field.]
Narrator: SaskPower is the Crown Corporation that has the monopoly to sell power. And we are going to be the first company in Saskatchewan that can sell power to industry.
Text on the screen: Don Ross, CEO- George Gordon Developments
[Video transitions to an empty field with a billboard that shows the logos of K+s, SaskPower, CIB and Wicehtowak Solar LTD.
Don Ross: We’ve signed our agreements
[Video pans across the empty field showing work vehicles and trucks in the distance]
Don Ross: Their board signed a Renewable Service Agreement, and that’s what we have with SaskPower.
[Video transitions to Don Ross sitting in the office]
Don Ross: And that allows us to sign a 30 year Power Purchase Agreement with K+S to sell them power.
[Video transitions to the field with the billboard again and pans across]
Don Ross: This is the largest 100 percent owned First Nation project in Canada.
[Video transitions to Don Ross]
Don Ross: And so, it’s got a CapEx of over 80 million dollars. It’s going to have over 60 jobs in the construction phase this winter to start training our people, so they learn how to become pile installers, learn how to become solar panel installers.
[Video transitions to an excavator working in a field and zooms in.
Don Ross: So, we’ll have all of that economic profit through the labor of this project.
Music changes and is more up-tempo
[Video transitions to a wind turbine slowing turning on a bright day.]
Text on screen: Six Nations Energy Development, Seven Stars Project, Weyburn, SK.
Narrator. Cowesses First Nation has been working with clean energy projects for well over twenty years now, so it’s just a natural step forward.
Text on screen: Jake Sinclair- CEO- Cowesses Ventures, Six Nations Energy Development, Seven Stars Project.
[Video transitions to a wind turbine in a field with solar panels]
Jake Sinclair: Large project like this is seeing that all of the Nations working together and we all have a mutual understanding of the outcome that we’re trying to achieve.
[Video transitions back to Jake Sinclair]
Jake Sinclair: But what I think the greatest success that we’ve seen with this project is, it’s going to create partnerships that are going to lead into other projects that are going to be also financial beneficial for all Nations that are involved with those projects.
[Video quickly transitions to the wind turbine and transitions back to Jake as he completes his statement]
[Video transitions to the wind turbine, taking an aerial shot and falling to ground level].
Narrator: So having 30 percent ownership in the Six NED project will bring revenue to the Nations for 25 to 30 years,
[Video transitions to a woman standing in a field with a billboard in the background]
Text on screen: Rebecca Acikahte, Business Development Manager, Cowesses Ventures, Seven Stars Project
[Video transitions to an aerial view of the wind turbine and a field full of solar panels.
Rebecca Acikahte: …and allows us to grow sustainably and bring more projects to our community. The Seven Stars Project is unique because we are partnered with Enbridge along
[Video cuts back to Rebecca Acikahte in the field]
Rebecca Acikahte: …with five other Nations including the Metis Nation, which has been unseen in projects of this kind, to this day.
[Video transitions briefly to Rebecca in the field and transitions to a falling shot of the wind turbine in the sky]
[Video transitions to a chain link fence with solar panels on the other side and signage on the fence with words La Plonge, Solar & Battery Storage.
Text on screen: Aurora Renewables/English River First Nation, Microgrid Project, La Plonge, SK
Narrator: We’ve got three phases to this project. So, the first step was getting solar built. The second, which the solar array is substantially complete now, the second part is the battery energy storage which is in fabrication right now.
[Video transitions to a man standing in a room speaking to the camera]
Text on screen: Jonathon Palmer. Co-Founder/Vice President, Aurora Renewables, English River First Nation’s La Plonge Microgrid Project.
Jonathon Palmer: And the third step is this microgrid.
[Video transitions to solar panels in the field]
Jonathon Palmer: So, when you have just solar or even solar and battery, but you don’t have a microgrid…
[Video transitions to Jonathon Palmer]
Jonathon Palmer: …when the grid power goes down, the community loses power. The community experienced that this summer, when there was forest fires.
[Video transitions to an aerial shot of forest fires and smoke billowing into the sky over charred earth and burnt trees]
Jonathon Palmer: And they were evacuated for 45 days. And that is extremely hard on a community. And also, like the community grocery store lost all their produce and all their food during that.
[Video transitions back to Jonathon Palmer]
Jonathon Palmer: Because when you have a fire like that, you also lose power. And so, the next step for us is implementing that microgrid….
[Video transitions to an aerial shot of the solar panels and begins to pull away to a wide aerial shot]
Jonathon Palmer: …where you can use the solar and the battery, but then you can also use that to improve reliability and resiliency for the community’s energy supply. So, that’s the next big step for us.
[Video transitions to an aerial shot of a lake bordered by a building with cars parked in a lot.
Text on screen: Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC) Mistawasis First Nation M2 Renewables/Pisim and Yotim Projects, Meadow Lake, SK
Narrator: Well, M2 Renewables was put together by a partnership amongst the Ten Nations to look at the interest the province had and the expansion the province had in renewables.
[Video transitions to a woman sitting in a room]
Text on screen: Tina Rasmussen- CEO MLTCII
Tina Rasmussen: So, we were trying to determine how do we move from having very small solar projects to moving to having utility scale projects.
[Video transitions to a drone shot of a field of solar panels]
Narrator: In Saskatchewan, coal is our number one source of power. If we could create power clean, we could create…
[Video transitions to a man sitting in a room]
Text on screen: Jeremy Norman, Tribal Chief, Meadow Lake Tribal Council
Jeremy Norman….power and create wealth through it, you know it is win-win for us.
[Video transitions back to a falling shot of the solar panels in the field]
Tina Rasmussen: The capacity building dollars and the government program, is that they’re not going to abandon us.
[Video transitions back to Tina Rasmussen in the room]
Tina Rasmussen: We figured out how to get to the point. We got the Power Purchase Agreements. So with their support….
[Video transitions to the solar panels]
Tina Rasmussen: …we can help to bring professional people to work alongside of us to make sure we are not missing.
[video transitions to an aerial view of solar panels in a field]
Jonathon Palmer: We don’t see this as a project, we see this as an approach and with the support of PrairiesCan and the Saskatchewan Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative.
[Video transitions to Jonathon Palmer]
Jonathon Palmer: That project was actually built by Aurora Renewables with an all Indigenous crew.
[Video transitions to the field with the solar panels]
Don Ross: Renewable energy is not a profitable venture without the federal and provincial support.
[Video transitions to Don Ross]
Don Ross: Without their support this project wouldn’t be economically viable.
[Video transitions to a ground level shot of solar panels and a wind turbine].
Jake Sinclair: Without government support, I don’t think the project would be as financially successful. So, it’s very crucial that the government steps up and helps out. Canada as a whole benefits from these projects.
[Video transitions to a widening shot of the field with the solar panels and transitions to drone footage of the forest at dawn covered in morning fog]
[Music slows down and an owl can be heard hooting in the background]
Text on screen: Started in 2023, the Saskatchewan Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative is a Federal Government Strategic Partnership Initiative (SPI) that focuses on project partnerships between Indigenous groups, all levels of government, industry and others that aim to increase Indigenous participation in the clean energy sector in Saskatchewan. For more information about the initiative and how to apply, contact: ISP-SK-SPI@sac-isc.gc.ca
Text on screen: A logo of the Strategic Partnership Initiative with the support of Prairies Economic Development Canada and Indigenous Services Canada
Text on screen: The Canada Wordmark
