NUNATSIAVUT, NL, May 19, 2021 /CNW/ - Canada is investing in community-led clean energy projects with rural and remote Indigenous communities to develop innovative solutions that will displace fossil fuels, advance reconciliation and self-determination, and combat climate change.
Yvonne Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Northern Affairs and Member of Parliament for Labrador, on behalf of the Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr., Minister of Natural Resources, today announced a $2.8-million investment to support three community-led clean energy projects across the northern coast of Labrador. These projects will build capacity and help rural and remote communities reduce their reliance on diesel and fossil fuels for heat and power.
Each project is unique, but all of them share the same goals: building a clean energy future, supporting new economic opportunities and creating more energy-resilient communities by reducing their reliance on fossil fuels.
All three projects were funded through Natural Resources Canada's Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program, a $220-million program to reduce reliance on diesel in rural, remote and Indigenous communities by deploying and demonstrating renewable energy technologies, encouraging energy efficiency and building local skills and capacity. The program is part of the government's Investing in Canada infrastructure plan, a more than $180-billion investment in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada's rural and northern communities.
Canada's strengthened climate plan, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, ensures Canada will remain a world leader in clean power. Canada is investing an additional $300 million over five years to help rural, remote and Indigenous communities, currently reliant on fossil fuels, to transition to clean, reliable energy by 2030.
Quotes
"Canada will reduce the reliance on diesel for heat and power in rural and remote communities by increasing the use of local renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency. We will continue to empower and support local efforts toward sustainability and meeting the challenges of climate change."
Yvonne Jones
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Northern Affairs
Member of Parliament for Labrador
"Indigenous Peoples are taking economic development into their own hands. They're finding the low-emissions solutions to build the clean energy future we need. We're working in partnership to get to net zero."
The Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr.
Minister of Natural Resources
"The principle of sustainability is at the core of Titjaluk's operations. As an Inuit woman, having lived most of my life in the Nunatsiavut region of Northern Labrador, I am extremely passionate about preserving the environment. Knowing how expensive diesel heating is on the North Coast of Labrador, and with the high cost of shipping firewood north, Titjaluk saw NRCan's BioHeat program funding as a rare opportunity to explore the feasibility of setting up a firewood supply network to provide people in northern communities with a cost-effective, reliable, renewable source of heating fuel. This BioHeat project allows us now to build economies of scale into the development of a permanent supply network that will sustainably improve the lives of the Inuit in remote Labrador hamlets."
Zena Sheppard
President and CEO, Titjaluk Logistics Ltd.
"The Nunatsiavut Government continues to make progress on advancing energy security within our region. The Nain Wind Micro-grid Project will displace one million litres of diesel fuel per year, and the High Efficiency Woodstoves Program will benefit over 200 homes. We look forward to building on these successes in collaboration with our valued partners."
Johannes Lampe
President, Nunatsiavut Government
Backgrounder
Canada Invests in Indigenous Clean Energy Projects in Northern Newfoundland and Labrador
The Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities (CERRC) program supports projects across Canada to reduce the reliance of rural, remote and Indigenous communities on fossil fuels for heat and power; supports community-level capacity building to increase clean energy opportunities; and encourages energy efficiency.
Yvonne Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Northern Affairs and Member of Parliament for Labrador, today announced funding for the following three CERRC projects on the Northern coast of Labrador.
Nunatsiavut Firewood Supply Chain Network
Recipient: Titjaluk Logistics
Project partners: N/A
Project location: Nain and Hopedale, Nunatsiavut and Roddickton, Newfoundland and Labrador
Funding from CERRC: $190,433
Total project cost: $246,933
Project summary: This pilot project demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of providing affordable firewood from Newfoundland to the residents of Nunatsiavut in order to reduce diesel consumption in Nunatsiavut and make home heating more affordable. Titjaluk Logistics set up a firewood yard in Roddickton on the island of Newfoundland, where firewood is abundant. The firewood was being split, packaged and shipped via Nunatsiavut Marine to Nain and Hopedale, where it was sold to residents.
Nain Remote Micro Grid FEED Study
Recipient: Nunatsiavut Government
Project partners: Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, Lumos Energy
Project location: Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador
Funding from CERRC: $1,315,220
Total project cost: $1,728,875
Project summary: The Nunatsiavut Government, in collaborative partnership with Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, is conducting a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study to develop a Nain Remote microgrid that incorporates wind generation, energy storage, smart meters and a microgrid controller integrated with the community's existing diesel generation grid.
High-Efficiency Woodstoves in Nunatsiavut's Diesel Communities
Recipient: Nunatsiavut Government
Project location: Nunatsiavut, Newfoundland and Labrador
Funding from CERRC: $1,340,000
Total project cost: $1,717,073
Project summary: Nunatsiavut Government is installing 240 high-efficiency woodstoves in five Nunatsiavut communities. The existing woodstoves are old and highly inefficient, while the new woodstoves will help reduce the use of diesel-generated electricity for space heating and the associated greenhouse gas emissions. The project will displace an estimated 1.5 million litres of diesel fuel annually and create eight jobs over two years and four jobs over 15–20 years for maintenance.
Associated links
Backgrounder
Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities
Investing in Canada Plan
A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy
Nain Remote Micro Grid FEED Study
SOURCE Natural Resources Canada
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Natural Resources Canada, Media Relations, 343-292-6100, [email protected] ; Ian Cameron, Senior Communications Advisor, Office of the Minister of Natural Resources, 613-447-3488, [email protected]
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