Cowesses First Nation will pave the way for clean energy technologies with a Wind and Storage Demonstration Project aimed to demonstrate a combined wind and storage energy system in a First Nation community.
The Cowessess First Nation (CFN) was selected as one of 20 Clean Energy Fund (CEF) projects. The CEF program was open to a variety of potential applicants and received 178 proposals from non-profit and profit organization, utilities, industry, associations, as well as First Nations.
“The Cowessess proposal was selected based on the published criteria,” Project Manager Rob Brandon said from Ottawa. “Of the 20 Clean Energy Fund projects we have four which involve storage and the Cowessess project is one of them.”
The project involves installing an 800- Kilowatt wind turbine and a 1,000 Kilowatt lithium-ion battery storage system on CFN land two kilometres southeast of Regina.
The current $5.5 million Wind and Storage Demonstration Project is funded by the Clean Energy Fund (contributing $2.78 million), the provincial government through its Go Green program ($1.39 million), Indian and Northern Affairs ($248,000), Cowessess First Nation ($1.8 million) and the Saskatchewan Research Council ($180,000).
The project is well underway said Lerat and Brandon. The turbine was ordered from supplier Enercon on March 2, 2012 and will be installed next month.
