Upper Nicola Band receives funding for clean-energy project

Three Indigenous communities in the Interior will join B.C.’s clean-energy sector with local projects following support from the Province.

The Province is partnering with Indigenous communities throughout B.C. to work toward a low-carbon future by providing funding from the First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund (FNCEBF).

The fund helps develop clean-energy projects driven and owned by Indigenous communities in areas such as solar, ocean thermal, wind energy, biomass, run-of-river hydroelectric power, energy-efficiency planning and other clean energy-related areas. A key goal of the fund is to increase the participation of Indigenous communities in B.C.’s clean-energy sector.

The FNCEBF provides Indigenous communities with clean-energy support in the areas of studies and planning, equity funding and revenue sharing.

The Okanagan Nation Alliance received $500,000 in equity funding for the construction of a 15-megawatt utility-scale solar project located on the Upper Nicola Band Reserve, approximately 30 kilometres east of Merritt.

The project involves a multi-community partnership between the Upper Nicola Band and the Okanagan Nation Alliance, and is in collaboration with FortisBC. Once operational, the solar farm will produce enough electricity to power almost 5,000 homes and will be interconnected with the BC Hydro distribution system.