Mi'kmaq energy summit gives update on wind farm projects

Mi'kmaq communities in Nova Scotia are completing a four-stage project that will see them put more energy into the grid than they collectively use.

Delegates at the Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Energy and Innovation Summit held this week in Membertou heard thefinal project in Amherst will soon come online.

"With projects completed and planned, Mi'kmaqwind projects would be producing more electricity than they use in their communities," Murray Coolican, deputy minister for energy, told CBC News.

4 projects generating 20 megawatts

Steve Parsons is the vice-president of Beaubassin Mi'kmaq Wind Management, a company owned by the 13 band councils in Nova Scotia.

He said the summit demonstrated the power of Mi'kmaq participation in the energy sector.

"Overall, we've developed 20 megawatts of power and we wanted to showcase that to government, to other First Nations within the province and outside of the province," he said Tuesday.

It's coming from four windfarm projects. Three are complete:

Truro Heights Community Wind

• Owned by Eskasoni First Nation, this wind farm generates4.4 megawatts.

Millbrook Community Wind

• With three wind turbines, this project generates 6.5 megawatts, enough to power 3,300 homes. It's led by Millbrook First Nation.

Whynotts Community Wind

• This wind farm near Bridgewatergeneratessix megawatts. It's led by Kwilmu'kw Maw-klusuaqn, or the Mi'kmaq Rights Initiative.

The fourth project is the Amherst Community Wind Farm. Work on one turbine continues this week and should be done by the weekend. The second turbine will go up next and should be built by late October.

The turbines will start working before the end of the year. They will generatesix megawatts.

Plans for more wind and tidal energy projects

"They are generating power that's being sold back to Nova Scotia Power," said Parsons. "Each turbine can produce enough energy to carry the load for 400 homes on average."

They use the profits to pay off project debts, and then split the money among the bands. The deal with Nova Scotia Power sets the rates for 20 years. It came out of the defunct COMFITprogram.

"We'd love to have more community feed-in tariffs programs," Parsons said. "Unfortunately COMFIT is not continued."

He hopes the government will create similar projects to tap into wind or tidal energy. In the meantime, Beaubassin Mi'kmawWind Management will seek business investors to start similar projects in the future.

Part of $1B economic impact

Parsons said the summit also highlighted one of the ways Indigenous communities in Atlantic Canada contribute more than $1 billion to the region's economy every year.

"It just goes to show that collectively, working together, recognizing the efforts of all people that live in Atlantic Canadaand the Mi'kmaq in particular we are contributors to the economy," he said.

"We wanted to see exactly what role we do play, and we play a significant role."

• Atlantic Canada Indigenous bands have $1.14B impact on national economy