The long road to clean power for First Nations communities – Macleans.ca

Indigenous communities in oil sands country are taking the first steps to wean themselves off fossil-fuelled electricity. But even those who’ve made inroads are shying away from diesel-free ambition.

The tanker trucks normally come by the dozen over the winter road from Fort McMurray, Alta., during the few weeks the ice can hold their weight. They make the 4½-hour northbound trek laden with the same fossil fuel they burn—stuff that Fort Chipewyan, Alta., has long used to generate its electricity. But this summer, the 800-resident hamlet downstream from Alberta’s oil sands expects to shutter its diesel plant for the first time, and instead power its lights and TVs through the warm season with solar energy.

The project was several years in the making, a partnership between local Dene, Cree and Métis leaders using $7.8 million in federal and provincial grants. The largest solar field of its kind in Canada was a huge undertaking: 5,760 photovoltaic panels transported across that same ice road, over myriad lakes, bogs and rivers. It will yield Fort Chip huge greenhouse gas and fuel savings, eliminating the need for 25 annual diesel tanker trips. But the community will still need to burn 75 truckloads of petroleum each year.

Read More: https://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/the-long-road-to-clean-power-for-first-nations-communities/