SaskPower signs agreement for Indigenous-run solar power facility near Lajord

SaskPower has agreed to build and operate a 100-megawatt Indigenous-run solar facility, expected to power 30,000 Saskatchewan homes. Damian Smith reports.

SaskPower has signed an agreement to build and operate an Indigenous-run 100-megawatt solar power facility near Lajord, Sask.

The ceremonial signing took place at the First Nations University of Canada on Wednesday.

The power purchase agreement to build the facility is with Mino Giizis Solar Ltd., which will be owned and operated by Neoen Holding Canada Inc. and Anishinabek Power Alliance Ltd, made up of Cote First Nation, the Key First Nation, Kinistin Saulteaux Nation, and Zagime Anishnabek.

“Southern Saskatchewan and Southern Alberta have the best solar resources in all of Canada. So, SaskPower targeted south central Saskatchewan, where they wanted the procurement to take place. So that’s where we began our prospecting in order to site the project,” said Ryan Dick, the province director of Neoen for Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The chiefs of the four First Nations involved with the project shared their anticipation in a joint statement on Wednesday.

“Our Nations see this as a way to move into the future without harming the land, while creating much needed revenue and employment opportunities for our people,” the statement read. “Rooted in the spirit of Treaty and our responsibility to future generations, this historic moment is taking our Nations to another level in Treaty 4 Territory.”

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The project will be 50 per cent Indigenous owned, by the Anishnaabe Power Alliance.

According to SaskPower, the solar farm will be able to power about 30,000 homes and will be the cheapest power in the province.

“It will generate economic wealth in terms of creating employment, resources as well for structure. We want to bridge gaps with relationships of course, so economic prosperity is on everyone’s agenda,” said Fabian Head, the third vice chief for the Sovereign First Nations.

Rupen Pandya, SaskPower’s president and CEO, described Mino Giizis as one of the province’s largest solar facilities, “generating enough emissions-free electricity to power 30,000 Saskatchewan homes on average.”

The project was chosen through a procurement process led by the First Nations Power Authority (FNPA) over the past two years.

“FNPA’s technical support and all-Indigenous evaluation team reviewed and screened some very compelling proposals from Saskatchewan First Nations and their IPP partners on 100 MW of solar generation,” said FNPA CEO Guy Lonechild.

When construction starts in 2027, Neoen looks to hire 350 people, with 75 per cent of them being Indigenous.

“We’re working with the Gabriel Dumont Institute, the First Nation Employment Centre, and the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies to really figure out how can we hire people, how can we train people, and how can we not only create jobs for this project, and have them work in the growing solar industry in western Canada,” Dick said.

According to SaskPower, Mino Giizis is going to be one of the larger facilities across Saskatchewan and is expected to be complete by 2028.