Slow process on QEC’s renewable energy program was a setback: project director

A program to help future renewable energy projects connect to Nunavut’s electricity grids and reduce the territory’s reliance on diesel fuel to generate power was released Sept. 6.

But for a company like Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corp., which is working on one of those projects, that program has taken too long to get to this stage.

“We tried for years to get the utility to talk to us,” said Heather Shilton, NNC’s director.

The independent power producers program, being implemented by Qulliq Energy Corp., will allow energy producers other than QEC to generate electricity from renewable sources and sell it to QEC, the utility for Nunavut’s 25 communities.

Integrating more renewable energy into the territory’s grid will help Nunavut be less reliant on diesel-fuelled electricity generators while reducing carbon emissions and promoting energy self-reliance, according to the QEC’s website.

Other renewable energy plans hoping to benefit from the program include an Arviat wind energy project and solar energy project in Coral Harbour.

Qulliq Energy Corp. began working on the IPP program in 2019.

However, Shilton said having to wait more than two years for the program to be implemented has stunted NNC’s progress on its wind-power project.

“What’s frustrating is not being heard,” she said of trying to negotiate with QEC before its Sept. 6 announcement.

After an initial discussion in 2019, Shilton said QEC has not been willing to discuss technical requirements for NNC’s wind project, citing the need for an IPP program to be in place first.

“The feds have these targets of getting off diesel in 2030 to 2035, and we can’t even get one project going,” Shilton said referring to federal government targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“How are we going to get off diesel in the next 10 years?”

Because QEC is Nunavut’s electricity utility, Shilton’s company needs its co-operation to implement its own wind project.

NNC needs to sign a power-purchase agreement, a contract between a seller and buyer of electricity, to move forward with its wind project in Sanikiluaq.

Called the Anuriqjuak Nukkiksautiit Project, NNC’s aim is to have 10 wind turbines installed along with 500 kilowatt hours of battery storage. The plan is to connect both to the hamlet’s grid to provide one megawatt of power for electricity, equal to approximately half of its electricity needs.

With no price established yet for NNC to sell its power to QEC — which would be stipulated in a purchase agreement — NNC cannot get the supplies it needs, such as turbines or battery storage, Shilton said.

“We can’t procure all of this equipment if we don’t have a business case for it,” she said.

Financially, the goal of the project is to shift costs to renewables instead of diesel, without adding costs. If anything, Shilton said, the addition of jobs for the project and less reliance on diesel will lead to cost savings.

To support its project, NNC received letters calling on QEC to negotiate from regional Inuit organizations and development corporations, including Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., Qikiqtani Inuit Association, Kivalliq Inuit Association and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association.

Sanikiluaq’s MLA Daniel Qavvik and Mayor Johnnie Cookie also wrote letters of support.

However, QEC’s Sept. 6 announcement that it will begin implementing the independent power producers program should allow projects like the NNC’s to move forward.

QEC will look at the application’s connection impact assessment, which is a detailed examination of a project’s impact on the grid, while considering its technical requirements and feasibility.

Once that assessment is passed, a purchasing agreement can be negotiated.

This opening of the IPP program is a temporary exemption that will apply only to Inuit organizations, Inuit-owned ventures, and the hamlets, the QEC stated.

“I think it’s a step in the right direction … but there are still a lot of unanswered questions with this announcement,” Shilton said, noting an announcement is not the same as a policy.

Specifically, she wants more details around the timeline and costs of the assessment.

Regardless of its implementation, Shilton said she does not believe an independent power producers program is even necessary.

It has requirements that are one-size-fits-all, she said, and there is no need to have such a policy when each community has different energy infrastructure.

Shilton added any renewable energy project in Nunavut should be Inuit-led.

She points out that Indigenous-led renewable energy projects can occur without an IPP program, like a wind project in Inuvik, N.W.T., between the Northwest Territories government and the Gwich’in Tribal Council.

QEC president and chief executive officer Rick Hunt said all vendors in an IPP program will be treated equally, while ensuring QEC is faithful to its mandate to supply safe, reliable, cost-effective energy.

Asked why the program took more than two years to implement, Hunt said QEC underwent significant organizational changes over the past three years, including ministerial changes and a change in government.

The territory’s minister responsible for QEC, Craig Simailak, told Nunatsiaq News that based on feedback and consultation, more time was needed to ensure the policy is up to the standards the government expects from QEC.

He said Nunavut’s Utility Rates Review Council also asked for a change in the program’s pricing structure, which caused further delay.

As for costs and timelines of the connection impact assessment Hunt said it will depend on the project. He said one project might only need minor adjustments, while another could require more.

He declined to comment on the Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corp.’s wind project in Sanikiluaq, saying QEC does not speak publicly on participating projects or individual accounts.

In March, Arviat MLA Joe Savikataaq asked the territory’s minister responsible for the QEC at the time, Joanna Quassa, about the hold-up on the program.

Quassa responded that the Utility Rates Review Council was reviewing the program and that there had been delays due to COVID-19.

Arviat also has the Arviat Clean Energy Microgrid Project, being developed by Toronto-based NRStor Inc. and the Hamlet of Arviat.

While the process to implement the IPP program was moving slowly, the Arviat project was never stopped, NRStor Inc. development and partnerships director Shivani Chotalia recently told Nunatsiaq News.

She said both NRStor and the hamlet were working collaboratively with the QEC and have a good relationship with it.

Chotalia also said that having a one-size-fits-all procedure for renewable projects, such as the independent power producers program, can be challenging with different communities being involved.

“It needs to work to make projects move forward,” she said.

While the program has started, as part of receiving ministerial approval from Simailak QEC must put forward a full, amended IPP policy for cabinet approval by the end of this year.