The Meadow Lake Tribal Council is first on board in a new energy agreement with SaskPower.
It is a deal that could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars and create thousands of jobs for First Nations communities.
Today, the First Nations Power Authority signed a ten-year deal with SaskPower to create new energy sources.
The chair of the First Nations Power Authority, Ben Voss, says this is more than just another partnership agreement.
“It’s several hundred million dollars in economic activity over the next 20 years for First Nations,” he says. “This is a huge, huge opportunity unlike anything else we’ve ever really seen for First Nations. If you look at all the different economic engagement things over time, this is one of the biggest we have seen.”
SaskPower President Robert Watson says the province needs more power and First Nations communities need more jobs.
“We need workers and we need workers in the north,” he says. “So it’s a great opportunity for SaskPower, this is a practical business solution for SaskPower because we will need lots of people in the future.”
All First Nations in the province are encouraged to come up with proposals for renewable energy projects such as bio mass, solar, and wind.
The first proposal is for a 10-megawatt operation that would be enough to power about 10,000 homes.