Stakeholders sign on to $52M Alberta First Nation solar project

A solar project on an Alberta First Nation has reached financial close, with several stakeholders on hand in Vancouver to mark the event.

Alexander First Nation, First Nation Power Development (FNpower), Concord Green Energy (a subsidiary of Concord Pacific) and the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) have reached financial close on the Tilley Solar Project located southeast of Calgary in Newell, Alta. on Treaty 7 Territory. They marked the occasion with a signing event at Concord Pacific Place in Vancouver.

The $52 million project, a 23.6-megawatt solar farm with 69,450 fixed-tilt solar photovoltaic panels, includes the economic interests of the Alexander First Nation and FNPower, an Indigenous-owned organization that aims to increase First Nations ownership and participation in the renewable energy industry.

“Projects like this will ensure we have a longer-term financial flow to our communities. It’s always a challenge in our communities because funding is strained with meeting all the emergencies of mental health and dealing with the many issues we have in our community (such as) housing,” Alexander First Nation Chief George Arcand said at the ceremony. “But as we start to create longer-term cash flows, we have the ability to stretch our resources so we can start to entertain taking on bigger projects like housing, mental health issues in the community and drugs and alcohol.”

The CIB contributed $33 million to the Tilley Solar project and CIB Indigenous and northern infrastructure managing director Hillary Thatcher said the project also fulfilled the organization’s goals of economic reconciliation.

“We have a portfolio of projects under our Indigenous Community Infrastructure Initiative where we invest in projects that are for the benefit of Indigenous communities. It provides the infrastructure requirements for a nation so the community has an opportunity to own a part of that and benefit from it,” she said.

The Tilley Solar project is one such example, and “it’s generating returns for the community to reinvest in its people and future projects. That’s really the economic reconciliation piece for us.”

Thatcher added the Tilley Solar project was approved before the Government of Alberta’s recent move to restrict renewable projects in the province.

“This project is not impacted by the changes in Alberta. It had already received all its approvals to proceed. Future projects though will be paced accordingly in an open market. The CIB is happy to participate as that market does open so we can help manage some of the risks with an emerging market and ensure Indigenous communities get to find good, strong partners like Concord to move their projects forward,” she said.

Concord Pacific Group president and CEO Terry Hui said his company began with small green energy projects nearly two decades ago and the Tilley Solar project is a milestone given the co-operation between the stakeholders.

“It’s our first time working with the CIB and…this combination of the federal government, a First Nation and our capital is significant and sets the path going forward as a trend for that capital combination,” Hui said.

Arcand added the project will mean training and education opportunities for members of the Alexander First Nation.

“We were planning for this a number of years ago and we have people doing some of the contracting now, but this kind of project is very intense at the beginning. Then it’s a matter of maintenance, which doesn’t require as many people. We’ve prepared ourselves and have a group doing solar panelling all over Alberta right now, so it’s a way for us to make sure some of our younger people start to get opportunities and training and allows us to be much more flexible in some of our business ventures,” Arcand said.