This article was published by The Energy Mix on May 2, 2024.
The Ulkatcho First Nation of Anahim Lake in British Columbia, currently completely reliant on diesel for electricity, is set to change that by building Canada’s largest off-grid solar farm.
A community of 1,500 residents, the nation says its plan to build a 12-hectare solar farm on the site of a former sawmill is a step toward energy sovereignty, reports CBC News.
The project will supply up to 70 per cent of the electricity the community needs, reducing its reliance on diesel by 1.1 million litres and avoiding around 3,300 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year, according to BC Hydro estimates.
“We believe that solar energy will be the source of our ability, for a lot of our families, to live off the grid,” said Chief Lynda Price, after Ulkatcho Energy Corporation (UEC)—owner of the C$30-million project—inked a 20-year agreement with public utility BC Hydro. Under the deal, BC Hydro will buy the solar energy and integrate it into power lines and a storage system for the community, CBC writes.
The project affirms the Ulkatcho First Nation’s environmental values, said elected councillor Corrine Cahoose.
“We have to be the stewards of the land,” she said. “We have to protect in every way, and this project is one of the ways.”
She also sees it as a long-term resource for the community. “The revenue that’s going to come from this project will ensure that we continue to build a healthy future for our children,” Cahoose said.
The solar farm has another practical dimension, with wildfires and increasingly unreliable ice roads making diesel dependence unviable and unsafe. “If we run out of diesel, then the lights go out. That’s it,” said Ulkatcho Elder Mary Williams.
Anahim Lake is located 320 Km west of Williams Lake, BC.
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