By Chad Klassen

Upper Nicola wants to harness the sun, be front-runners in future of energy

Mar 21, 2018 | 5:20 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Upper Nicola Indian Band is on the verge of installing four million solar panels to make the band and the environment more sustainable, ready to invest in a $30 million solar project that would be the largest in B.C.  . 

“This whole province and this country talk about clean environment. We do a lot of talking, but we don’t do anything about it,” said Upper Nicola Indian Band chief Harvey McLeod. “So our community, our council and the people we work with look at the opportunity of harnessing the energy from the sun.”

The solar panels would be spread across 200 acres of land on reserve, generating power for the community and the region and earning up to 2 million dollars a year in revenues for the band, selling some of the surplus power to BC Hydro. The project would offer 80 construction jobs and two permanent positions to run the solar farm, which would by far exceed the biggest in the province.

“The largest solar project today in British Columbia is one megawatt in Kimberley. It’s going to be 15 times bigger than the largest solar project or solar farm in B.C. right now,” said CEO of the Upper Nicola Development Corporation Peter Hilton. “It’s going to be equal to the largest solar farms in Western Canada.”

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McLeod and the rest of council have had this project on their minds since 2010, knowing the Upper Nicola Indian Band wanted to be a front-runner in the future of energy. It’s also a band that’s against the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline. 

“Through our dreams, we were able to, with the assistance of our community and the people that we work with, looked at ways of generating energy,” noted McLeod. “We had a look at geo, we had a look at wind, and solar. For this community, it made most sense for us to get involved in solar because of the footprint it leaves. It doesn’t require a lot of land to develop.”

The band has a 50-50 split in costs and revenues in the project with Fortis BC, although there is opportunity for other Okanagan First Nations to join. Upper Nicola, though, has been saving up for a project like this for a while. 

“We’ll probably have a 70-30 debt-equity split,” said Hilton. “So we’ll need about $3.1 million to invest in the project to get it off the ground.”

Band members, about 500 in total, will have the chance to vote on the project in an April referendum. Chief McLeod and council have been working to inform members about the benefits. 

“It would give our community a better lifestyle,” noted McLeod. “We have a lot of needs and we’re going to be able to address some of the needs through this project. Housing, health, education, and social. It requires resources to do that, and right now we scramble to find the resources to provide the services. So we see this as a huge opportunity to address some of the needs and we’re very excited about it.”

If approved, construction on the project would begin in spring 2019.