Heather Latter
Rainy River First Nation’s 25 mega-watt solar project, located just northeast of Pinewood on the Morley-Dilke Road, has been nominated for a Game Changer Award by the Canadian Solar Industries Association.
“It’s a game-changer award in the sense of what it’s going to do for those individual communities,” explained band manager Dean Wilson.
“So we’re pretty proud to have been nominated,” he added, noting the band is competing in the “Community/First Nations’ Solar Project” category against seven others.
The awards gala will be held tomorrow in Toronto and RRFN members will be in attendance.
“We might win, you never know,” Wilson remarked.
“It’s a positive thing to have been recognized.”
Wilson said the project, which cost upwards of $160 million, is now operational and generating revenue.
“We’re producing power right now back to the grid as of February,” he noted.
“Hopefully, in a very short time frame, the facility will be turned over to our operation/maintenance group and it will be ours, and we’re on our way.”
Part ownership of the project is being retained by Ontario Solar PV Fields until it reaches commercial operation.
“What it means is we are part of the Feed-In Tariff [FIT],” Wilson explained.
The FIT program was developed for the province to encourage and promote greater use of renewable energy sources, including on-shore wind, waterpower, renewable biomass, biogas, landfill gas, and solar photovoltaic (PV) for electricity-generating projects in Ontario.
“We have a guaranteed contract with the government for the next 20 years to produce power to the grid,” Wilson said.
He added building the solar farm also created some jobs in the area.
“I think we estimated $30-$40 million was spent in the local area through wages [and] accommodations since the people who did the project were from Toronto,” he remarked.
“It put a lot of money into the local area as far as restaurants, accommodations, gas, hiring local contractors,” he noted.
“Especially in the times that we are having right now, it’s always a positive thing.”
Wilson said they expect the project will generate roughly $19 million-$20 million in gross revenue per year.
“We have senior lenders through Manulife and Sunlife so we have to pay those debts back in the next 15 years,” he explained.
“From the Rainy River First Nations’ perspective, the net cash distribution to our community over the next 20 years is estimated at $50 million so, on average, $2.2-$2.5 million a year that will be coming back to RRFN,” Wilson added.
He said the whole intent of the band getting involved in this project was to help all its members, both on and off-reserve, with escalating hydro costs.
Wilson noted back in 2006, community members asked the band council if there was some way it could help offset rapidly-rising electricity rates.
They opted to explore “green” energy as a source of revenue to help do that—initially looking at wind power.
A tall tower was erected to analyze wind potential, but it was determined there was not enough wind there to be viable.
That’s when the band began looking at solar power.
“So we’ll look at taking a certain percentage of that revenue and giving it back to our membership,” Wilson explained.
A letter to band members—dated March 9—indicated the dividend is estimated to be about $1,000 per member per year for 20 years.
The first payment is expected in early July.
“We are also looking at creating a dependent trust for our kids between the ages of 0-18 so that way, a kid born today will have something in 18 years—perhaps a little extra money for school,” Wilson added.
“We are just working through those parameters.
“It’s positive for our community, and gives us some other funds to put on some programming or involve ourselves in other economic development opportunities,” he reasoned.
Wilson said it’s taken nearly seven years to get to where they are today.
“And we are looking at the possibility of another project and hopefully we can be as successful as we were with this one,” he noted.
“When people are talking about getting things done in the north, and they say our location makes it hard to do things, I think that we’re proving that it can be done,” Wilson remarked.
He said people who haven’t seen the solar farm don’t realize its magnitude.
“They have a view of what they see, like the little 10 [kilowatt] projects you drive by, but that’s not even close to what this project is about,” Wilson stressed.
“Everybody who has seen it has marvelled at how big it really is.”
As for winning the Game Change Award for their efforts with the solar project, Wilson said it would be icing on the cake.
“Hopefully, we’re successful. But if not, we’re just happy to be nominated,” he said.
“It’s a pretty big achievement for RRFN.”
The band is planning a grand-opening of the solar project, to be held in May in conjunction with its annual fish fry.
At that time, people will be invited to come out and view the solar farm.
