Renewable energy project to cut Naujaat’s diesel dependence by 30 per cent
Work started Sept. 5 on the Ikayuut Solar and Energy Project; completion expected in spring 2026
Work is underway at the Ikayuut Solar and Energy project in Naujaat following a groundbreaking ceremony held Sept. 5. From left, Mayor Kevin Tegumiar; Lucy Maynard, vice-president operations at Sakku Investments Corp.; Blaine Chislett, manager of energy and sustainability at Sakku; Chris Lentz, vice-president construction at Sakku; Malek Tawashy, president and CEO at Northern Energy Capital; Lori Ann Tulugak, Naujaat assistant senior administrative officer; Dana May, project manager at Northern Energy Capital; Natange Sararas, construction project manager at Solvest; and David Kakuktinniq, president and CEO at Sakku. (Photo courtesy of Kivalliq Alternative Energy)
Construction is underway in Naujaat on a renewable energy project planners say will reduce the community’s dependence on diesel by 30 per cent.
When complete, the Ikayuut Solar and Energy Storage Project is expected to supply enough electricity to power about 130 homes in the hamlet of about 1,200 residents, with peak energy production occurring in the spring and summer.
Work started Sept. 5. The project is organized by Kivalliq Alternative Energy, an Inuit-led partnership between Sakku Investments Corp. and Northern Energy Capital, which helps develop and support renewable energy projects in remote and northern areas of Canada.
“We have the opportunity to produce the entire energy demand during the summer months,” Blaine Chislett, manager of energy and sustainability at Sakku, said in an interview.
Battery storage will be used for the power that’s produced and the project will utlilize about 2,500 solar panels.
The project will allow Naujaat’s diesel generators to be shut off for periods of time — a first for Nunavut, Kivalliq Alternative Energy said in a news release.
The name Ikayuut was chosen by the hamlet council and means “help, support, or resources” in Inuktitut, which symbolizes the project’s role in supporting the community’s power grid.
The hamlet also considered more expensive wind-generated power, but chose a solar project because it would provide the most power at the best price, Chislett said.
The Ikayuut project will reduce the community’s dependence on diesel fuel by about 400,000 litres per year while cutting carbon dioxide emissions by about 30,000 tonnes over its expected 30-year lifespan.
The project area will take up approximately four hectares east of the airport on a site that was previously a metal landfill where the land couldn’t be used anymore, Chislett said.
“We’re in our first 10 per cent of construction, which is going to be fencing, the gridding is already done and by next month we’ll be starting to lay down our piles for the racking system for the solar,” he said.
Chislett said a range of jobs including skilled labour such as electricians, construction labourers, equipment operators, maintenance, and polar bear monitoring will be targeted toward local Inuit.
Construction will run through 2025 with commercial operations anticipated to begin in March 2026.
No full cost estimate was available, but in July the federal government announced $18.5 million in funding for it.
I would love to see the data for solar vs wind. Days without wind are rare in the Arctic, and days without sunshine are pretty common.
The costs of solar (capital and operating) are so much cheaper than wind these days, it doesn’t matter how much more wind there is usually.
Using the Levilized Cost of Electricity metric onshore wind is still cheaper than photovoltaic solar. Add in at least 3 months of minimal solar production, when electricity needs are highest and advocating for solar vs wind in the Arctic does not make any sense.
Problem is there are a few of these projects with fairly large govt investment that in my opinion is wasted and no lessons learned. Take for example Kugluktuk solar project over 500k but can anyone tell if it works nope because the couple people trained on the system don’t work there anymore so sits idle plus power corp only lets a certain amount of energy be banked.. Now there working on more new solar projects, why not look across the arctic and find out if these plans work or not oh yeah I forgot most of this is done by consultants with no northern experience so they just throw out potential savings and neglect true costs like turn over and training and damages, solar won’t be the answer.
Wow, it sounds like you’re an expert in armchair analysis! Just because you’re not in the loop doesn’t mean the Kugluktuk solar project isn’t working. It’ actually provides a nice little revenue stream for the Hamlet—hard to believe, right?
Plus, it’s helping to cut operating costs for the rec center, which is one of the biggest expenses for any Hamlet.
But hey, let’s keep throwing shade on solar, because who needs actual facts when you can just speculate?
Maybe the consultants should take you on their next project for some ‘real’ northern experience!
What’s up with politicians going climate change blinded woke?
Why wish to take a Hamlet backwards in time to wrap them with irregular, unreliable and to make the grid more operational expensive for all of us?
To spend millions to produce no electricity when dark or during long raging blizzards.
If the parties truly wish to put the millions of the free green money subsidies to good use. Then common sense would be to replace the 20 plus year old Naujaat gensets to new. As listed on Qulliq Energy Corporation posted online pdf… 3 each 550 (CAT D 3508B) various serial numbers CTC, 2HW. 1 each 550 kW Modular Unit (Cat 3508B) 2HW.
These old but still good babies will be technically challenging and will add operational complexity and ongoing cost to hook up with solar.
Where new generators will have improved fuel efficiency, emission control and reduced operating costs.
Now if energy talk is to keep electricity production costs low while saving the planet by being environmentally wise, it doesn’t seem the solar parties are interested.
New gensets would keep Naujaat on a future path to Positive Energy Growth with reliable electricity. And bingo with a 20 – 30% fuel saving.
But who cares about reality when there’re millions and millions of free subsidies $$$$$ to grab to make electricity more expensive but call it free energy?
Anyone saying there will be a 30 percent reduction in the use of diesel is either incompetent or a deliberate liar. How much sunshine do you get when electricity use is most needed in the arctic? Duh! In any case the environmental cost of both solar and wind is horrendous when you count both the total manufacturing and eventual disposal costs. There is, however, one development under way that’s worth waiting for and that’s small nuclear plants.
With Microsoft’s announcement of their 20 year Nuclear Power deal with Constellation, an energy company in Baltimore, Pennsylvania, will turn Three Mile Island unit 1 back on.
And they are not the only company thinking about buying a Nuclear Power plant to run AI, because AI has a massive hunger for electricity.
Net Zero is playing the starring role, pushing all towards nuclear as the only clean energy choice while Net Zero crowd continues the evilization oils and gas.
It’s no secret Solar and Wind just can’t produce. Requiring massive amounts of land and storage for unreliable and expensive output. The world has woken up. The solar and wind hippy-dippy con it’s free, it’s free is long over. Triggering the growth of nuclear, SNRs and MicroNR.
Ontario is now talking, doubling the energy at the Bruce Nuclear site. While BC conservatives are saying they will remove the ban on nuclear. Plus to have SNR (Small nucler reactors) up and running within 10 years. Royal Royce is rapidly gaining traction with their easy truck to location SMR.
Don’t forget Trudeau’s liberals are banning all gas, trucks by 2035. Which means a heck of a lot of electricity will be required. Where will it come from? Unless their goal is UN2030, no travel and confined to your 15 minute community. So not a surprise Edmonton this month announced their 15 minute communities, city.
Flin Flon tested electric cars and trucks a couple of winters ago and the results… they don’t work in the cold. Stressing it was a nightmare for emergency car, truck vehicles running out of charge while out on an emergency.
What’s Nunavut’s plan?
Are you also factoring in the diesel shipping and storage? As for small nuclear you actually do need trained people to maintain whatever you use. Hamlets have proven that they have problems maintaining their own water treatment plants. Maintaining diesel, solar, wind is sometimes possible, but small nuclear? Not something that I would recommend.