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Ontario Renewable Microgrid Continues Trend of Tribal Installations

March 22, 2018

Ontario Power Generation is partnering with a First Nation government in northwestern Ontario on a tribal microgrid designed to significantly reduce diesel use by the community.

Elisa Wood

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is partnering with a First Nation government in northwestern Ontario on a tribal microgrid designed to significantly reduce diesel use by the community.

The solar and battery storage microgrid, being developed for the Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (KZA)/Gull Bay First Nation (GBFN), will supply the nation’s entire energy demand. Located about 109 miles north of Thunder Bay, the tribal community has a population of about 1,150 people.

The KZA microgrid is expected to reduce diesel use by more than 29,000 gallons per year. This will avoid 340 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Once the tribal microgrid begins operating, KZA will become owner and operator. Wilfred King, KZA chief, said that the community will share knowledge gleaned from operating the microgrid with other tribes. He described the microgrid as in keeping with “our peoples’ connection with the land.”

The installation reflects a growing number of tribal microgrid projects in the U.S. and Canada, among them Blue Lake Rancheria in Humboldt County, California, the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe reservation near Lake Havasu, Calif., and others in various Alaskan and Canadian communities.

“Providing First Nations with a clean and reliable supply of energy is a priority for the Ontario government,” said Glenn Thibeault, Ontario’s energy minister. “I applaud the partnership between Ontario Power Generation, the province’s largest energy provider, and Gull Bay First Nation to build an advanced renewable microgrid that will provide Gull Bay First Nation with a clean supply of electricity. The microgrid will reduce Gull Bay First Nation’s reliance on diesel power generation and is already creating job opportunities for the community.”

OPG, which plans to begin construction this spring, will manage the contractors and oversee the development, design, procurement, regulatory processes, construction, integration, and commissioning. The microgrid is expected to be complete before the end of 2018.

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About the Author

Elisa Wood | Editor-in-Chief

Elisa Wood is an award-winning writer and editor who specializes in the energy industry. She is chief editor and co-founder of Microgrid Knowledge and serves as co-host of the publication’s popular conference series. She also co-founded RealEnergyWriters.com, where she continues to lead a team of energy writers who produce content for energy companies and advocacy organizations.

She has been writing about energy for more than two decades and is published widely. Her work can be found in prominent energy business journals as well as mainstream publications. She has been quoted by NPR, the Wall Street Journal and other notable media outlets.

“For an especially readable voice in the industry, the most consistent interpreter across these years has been the energy journalist Elisa Wood, whose Microgrid Knowledge (and conference) has aggregated more stories better than any other feed of its time,” wrote Malcolm McCullough, in the book, Downtime on the Microgrid, published by MIT Press in 2020.

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