Old Crow looks to solar power to cut diesel use

The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation is making a pitch to dramatically cut use of diesel fuel in Old Crow, by generating and storing solar power.

The First Nation has submitted a proposal tothe YukonEnvironmental andSocio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) to install photovoltaic solar panels near the Old Crow airport, with batteries to store the power.

"We're pretty excited about this project," said William Josie, the First Nation's director of natural resources. "It's a good thing to do in this day and age."

Right now, the fly-in community of about 300 peoplerelies wholly on diesel power. It is Yukon's northernmost community, about 100 kilometres north of the the Arctic Circle.

Josiesays the community has been looking for years to developalternative sources of energy, because "we wantsome energy security."

The First Nation's YESAB proposal also says that Old Crow's northern location means it is sensitive to a warming climate, and so it has an interest in reducing emissions.

97,619 fewer litres of diesel

Four years ago, the First Nation teamed up withVancouver-basedSea Breeze Microgrid Systems to develop a plan. In 2014, the project was a finalist for the Arctic Inspiration Prize.

Josie said it's taken a lot of work and a feasibility study that was recently completed to get to the point of making a submission to YESAB.

According to the project proposal, the solar panel arraywouldgenerate anestimated347.5 megawatt hours per year, enough to power one in six homes in Old Crow. That wouldreduce the community's diesel consumption by"roughly 97,619 litres per year."

The proposal also says that during the summer months, when the sun never sets in Old Crow, there could be periods when the community useswholly solar power.

Conversely, there would be periods in the winter when there is little or no solar energy to harness.

'There's definitely challenges'

"The technology for solar power generation is changing rapidly," Josie said.

"When we first looked at total cost of the project,when we started, it was somewhere around $3 million, now it's down to $2.3 million.

Josiesays there's still a lot to do,such as finding money to help pay for the projectand negotiating a power purchase agreement with the distributorATCO ElectricYukon.

"There's definitely challenges," Josie said.

If all goes well, the First Nation plans to begin construction next year.