Hydroelectricity could replace diesel in Iqaluit by 2033: Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corp.
Water power plant could serve the community for a century, company representative says at public meeting
More than 50 people listen to plans for a proposed hydroelectric plant near Iqaluit at a public meeting Tuesday night at the Aqsarniit hotel. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
The proposed water power plant northeast of Iqaluit that would replace all of the city’s diesel-generated electricity could be operational by 2033, says Jess Puddister, manager of strategy and operations at Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corp.
“We will no longer have to depend on southern companies to provide us with the means to generate energy,” she said during a public meeting at the Aqsarnitt hotel in Iqaluit Tuesday night attended by more than 50 people, including Premier P.J. Akeeagok, Justice Minister David Akeeagok and Iqaluit MLAs George Hickes and Adam Arreak Lightstone.
Hydroelectric power generation uses moving water to turn turbines, which spin to produce electricity. The project would include an approximately 50-metre-high dam and a powerhouse built along the Kuugaluk River, about 60 kilometres northeast of Iqaluit.
Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corp. is an Inuit-owned subsidiary of Qikiqtaaluk Corp. It started work on the hydroelectric plant in 2022. Qulliq Energy Corp. initiated the project, but in 2014 it was put on hold due to a lack of funding.
In 2017, Johnny Mike, who was Nunavut’s minister responsible for QEC, told the legislative assembly that the project would cost “well over $300 million, even approaching $500 million.”
On Tuesday, Puddister said the current price tag could be in that range but it will become clearer when the design stage is over.
“It’s still very early,” she said, adding the federal government will likely be the main source of funding for the project.
Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corp.’s plan for a hydroelectric plant near Iqaluit includes a dam and powerhouse and could replace diesel currently used to generate electricity. (Image courtesy of Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corp.)
The new power plant is anticipated to generate 15 megawatts of electricity a year. Iqaluit currently requires 10 to 11 megawatts, provided by generators that use 15 million litres of diesel fuel per year.
If successful, Puddister said, the hydroelectric plant would provide power for at least 100 years and sustain all of Iqaluit’s electricity needs, which account for 19 per cent of Nunavut’s entire demand.
Nukkiksautiit hasn’t yet determined how the plant would connect to QEC’s electricity grid. After it is built, the diesel power plant would remain in place as a backup energy source for the city, Puddister said.
In addition to providing electricity to the community, the hydroelectric plant might also allow businesses and homes to switch to electric heating from oil heaters. Nukkiksautiit is still assessing which would be more beneficial to residents and is seeking input from the public, she said.
The hydroelectric plant could also provide increased power for industrial demands, such as a potential new mine near Iqaluit.
The plant would be able to work year-round, Puddister said, because water doesn’t freeze at the full depth of the lake and river in winters. A collection station installed at the Kuugaluk River would provide year-round data on water flow.
While hydroelectric power is more cost-effective than diesel power, that doesn’t necessarily mean electricity rates will go down.
“That is determined by QEC and the government of Nunavut,” Puddister said.
“The new power plant is anticipated to generate 15 megawatts of electricity a year.”
That’s the wrong way of putting that. I assume what it really means to say is “The new power plant is anticipated to have a maximum generation capacity of 15 megawatts.”
Do it! No more diesel in your water. That was the weirdest story, who puts diesel in their water system?
youre sum special, no one deliberately put diesel in the water treatment plant.
Since God controls everything we can only surmise that God did it.
How many megawatts would this power plant need to generate if more Iqaluit residents, especially new construction, wished to get away from fuel burning furnaces to heat their homes, and switch to electric heat?
What happened to the wind turbines and pumped storage? Turbines can be erected & operational in far less time (and could contribute to the construction site’s energy needs as well).