Sanikiluaq wind turbine installation to begin in 2025, with access road built

A wind turbine at the Raglan mine near Salluit, in Nunavik in 2014. A similar project is expected to be built in Sanikiluaq, after six years in the making. (Tugliq Energy - image credit)
A wind turbine at the Raglan mine near Salluit, in Nunavik in 2014. A similar project is expected to be built in Sanikiluaq, after six years in the making. (Tugliq Energy - image credit)

Construction of the road to a proposed windmill in Sanikiluaq is set to finish this week.

That paves the way for work on the turbine itself to begin, though officials last year had expected it to have been operational by now.

Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation (NNC), an Inuit-owned clean energy developer, has been working with the Qulliq Energy Corporation (QEC) to install the wind turbine since 2016.

It would see, for the first time, QEC buying electricity from an independent provider. But for years, QEC didn't have a policy for how to purchase power from independent producers.

So getting to this point is a cause for celebration for Heather Shilton, director of NNC.

"It's been a long time coming, so it's nice to see some actual progress," she said.

Once built, the single windmill is expected to produce one megawatt of power, with a one megawatt hour storage battery.

For the community's roughly 1,000 residents, that's expected to halve their reliance on diesel fuel.

It's difficult to compare how cost-effective wind energy will be to diesel, given how heavily subsidized the fossil fuel is, Shilton said.

But she said NNC will receive the same price for the electricity produced as the price being paid to diesel suppliers.

"The agreement that we have with the utility is that they will purchase the electricity at the avoided price of diesel."

Construction on the road to Sanikiluaq's wind turbine is set to be finished by October, 2024.
Construction on the road to Sanikiluaq's wind turbine is set to be finished by October, 2024.

Construction on the road to Sanikiluaq's wind turbine is set to be finished by October, 2024. (Submitted by Heahter Shilton )

Mayor Johnny Appaqaq believes the road to the turbine is in the perfect spot. It's windy, close to town, and provides a new route to good hunting areas.

A portion of the revenue from the project will be injected into the community on an annual basis, under a guiding body of rightsholding organizations and stakeholders.

"It'll be up to the community to look after it to make sure the money doesn't get wasted," he said.

Shilton said the number of jobs created throughout the project, and expected revenue, haven't been worked out yet. But once operational, there'll be up to two permanent staff.

Construction of the turbine — which has a 25 year term agreement once in operation — is set to begin next summer.

Qulliq Energy Corporation hasn't responded to CBC's request for comment.