Nunavut utility to allow DIY renewable power generation

A Vancouver Renewable Energy Co-op solar installer, Duncan Martin, left, and the Greenpeace logistics coordinator, Claude Beauséjour, install solar panels on the Clyde River community hall this past August. (GREENPEACE PHOTO)

By the spring of 2017, the Qulliq Energy Corp. will launch a new program that will let their customers generate their own electricity and send any excess power they produce back into their local electricity grid, the QEC said Sept. 15.

Called “net metering,” it’s a type of system allowed by electrical power utilities in Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, including Hydro One in Ontario.

The Northwest Territories Power Corp., from which the QEC split in 2001, also makes net metering available to customers, though the practice is new to Nunavut.

Under the QEC’s plan, customers will be allowed to generate up to 10 kilowatts of power using renewable technologies like wind turbines and solar panels.

“QEC is currently finalizing its net metering program, and amending its terms and conditions of service to include its net metering policy,” the QEC announcement said.

The corporation said they will provide detailed information about the program in early 2017.

With such systems, customers are usually allowed to claim credits for any excess power they send back into the local power grid.

“This program demonstrates our commitment to reduce our reliance on diesel fuel and lower our greenhouse gas emissions,” said Bruno Pereira, the QEC’s president and CEO.

This past August, Greenpeace and the Vancouver Renewable Energy Co-op installed solar panels on the Clyde River community hall, a move that’s expected to save the Hamlet of Clyde River about $35,000 a year.