Enbridge Inc., a Canadian energy company, is working with six indigenous groups to develop a wind farm in southeast Saskatchewan that can deliver enough power for 100,000 homes.
The 200-megawatt Seven Stars wind project is backed in part with a $100 (US$73 million) million loan guarantee from the Saskatchewan Indigenous Investment Finance Corp., Calgary-based Enbridge said in a statement Monday. It’s expected to go into service in 2027.
Energy companies in Canada are increasingly partnering with Indigenous communities, especially if operations affect their land, a strategy that can help prevent environmental and legal opposition. Enbridge in 2022 agreed to sell a 12 per cent stake in seven pipelines in Alberta to 23 First Nations and Métis communities for $1.12 billion. Beyond Enbridge, Pembina Pipeline Corp. is partnering with the Haisla Nation on a British Columbia liquefied natural gas plant, and the government of Canada is looking to sell a stake in the Trans Mountain oil pipeline to Indigenous groups.
Enbridge is working with the newly formed Six Nations Energy Development LP, a consortium comprising the Cowessess First Nation, George Gordon First Nation, Kahkewistahaw First Nation, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, Pasqua First Nation and White Bear First Nations. The groups have have an opportunity to acquire as much as 30 per cent of the the project.
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