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Seen as a step towards reconciliation, four Treaty 4 First Nations in partnership with renewable energy company Neoen have signed a power purchase agreement with SaskPower.
Together, Zagime Anishinabek Nation, Kinistin Saulteaux Nation, Cote First Nation, and Key First Nation make up the Anishinabek Power Alliance, which will co-own with Neoen the Mino Giizis Solar Energy Facility, planned for a site near Estlin in the Rural Municipality of Lajord.
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Mino Giizis is Ojibwe for “good sun.”
The project was selected for the power purchase agreement through a competitive procurement process led by the First Nations Power Authority, culminating in a ceremonial signing held Wednesday at the First Nations University of Canada main campus in Regina.
“It’s part of the government reconciliation, the reconciliation process within the 74 nations, and we want to bridge those gaps, those relationships,” Vice Chief Fabian Head of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nation told reporters. “And of course, economic prosperity is on everyone’s agenda. So this partnership here that’s being signed between First Nations and FNPA, very significant, and obviously it’ll be a successful venture.”
“Our Nations see this as a way to move into the future without harming the land, while creating much needed revenue and employment opportunities for our people,” the four First Nations said in a joint statement.
SaskPower requires 30 per cent Indigenous equity and CEO Rupen Pandya says he’s pleased to see projects reach 50 and even 51 per cent.
He also said that while the terms of the purchase agreement are confidential, this proposal came in at the lowest cost of all SaskPower’s solar projects and will help the Crown corporation reach its goals for renewable power.
“The Government of Saskatchewan has been clear that the renewable target will be net zero (in) 2050 and so any additions into our generation are part of that pathway,” Pandya said.
Ryan Dick, Neoen’s province director for Alberta and Saskatchewan, said the company is pleased to have been selected in its second attempt to provide renewable energy for Saskatchewan’s power grid in partnership with First Nations communities.
He added the location southeast of Regina is ideal.
“Southern Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, have the best solar resource in all of Canada,” he explained. “It’s an excellent solar resource, some of the best in in the region.
“And so SaskPower targeted south-central Saskatchewan, where they wanted the procurement to take place, and so that’s where we began our prospection in order to site the project.”
The Mino Giizis project is expected to create 350 full-time jobs during its peak construction period, creating economic spinoffs as well as generate property tax revenue once construction is complete.
The permitting process is expected to last until fall 2026 with construction expected to begin in spring 2027.
Operations could start in Nov. 2028.
