The Huu-ay-aht First Nations are taking advantage of green technology to generate a new source of revenue for the community with the construction of a clean-energy power plant on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

The Huu-ay-aht community received $500,000 in equity funding from the B.C. government’s First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund, to support construction of a five-megawatt, run-of-river hydroelectric project on the Sarita River. The project will be 100% community-owned.

“The Huu-ay-aht First Nations have seized on an opportunity to lead the way in clean, renewable energy that also provides financial diversification for the community,” said Scott Fraser, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation and MLA Mid Island-Pacific Rim. “The First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund is a tool that can be used to foster ingenuity and imagination, and I can’t think of a better example of seeing that put into practice than this project.”

The project is within the Huu-ay-aht First Nations’ private lands, and could generate 14.8 gigawatt hours of electricity, on average, per year, which is enough to power more than 1,300 homes. The construction phase of the project will create as many as 10 jobs in the community, while its maintenance and operation will create permanent jobs for a plant operator and manager.

The First Nation is negotiating an electricity purchase agreement with BC Hydro to sell the power to the utility company. That agreement is expected to generate average annual gross revenue of more than $2 million, once the power plant is fully operational.

Once all Huu-ay-aht approvals are received, the full civil construction work on the power plant is expected to begin in the spring of 2019, with commercial operation expected in 2020.

“The First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund has been an invaluable tool for our community. It first provided assistance to study the concept, and now provides equity investment in a project that will allow us to be more energy self-sufficient, while creating revenue that we can invest back into our community,” said Huu-ay-aht First Nations Chief Robert J. Dennis Sr.

The Huu-ay-aht received $40,000 capacity funding from the First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund in 2012 for project feasibility studies, and $10,000 in 2016 to support the completion of a ground survey for this project.

Applications for the next First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund intake will be accepted until the end of May 2018.

Quick Facts:

• Revenue into the First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund (FNCEBF) has increased from $6.7 million in 2017, to $7.2 million for 2018.
• The FNCEBF provides up to $500,000 in equity funding, and $50,000 for capacity funding that aids First Nations in pursuing clean-energy projects.
• Since 2011, more than 140 First Nations communities have benefited from more than $10.5 million in capacity and equity funding.
• The fund also provides revenue-sharing agreements with First Nations for a portion of water and land rents charged by the Province for new clean-energy projects. If an eligible clean-energy project site is on a traditional territory, First Nations may be eligible for a revenue-sharing agreement.
• 40 B.C. First Nations communities benefit from clean-energy revenue-sharing agreements under the First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund.

Learn More:

• Huu-ay-aht First Nations agreements: http://ow.ly/Fus8301BTSz
• Huu-ay-aht First Nations are a member of the Maa-nulth First Nations: http://huuayaht.org/  
• First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund: http://ow.ly/BtV0301BUaZ