The Cowessess Nation-led Bekevar wind farm in Saskatchewan is on track to become the largest in the province, generating 200 megawatts of renewable energy, enough to power about 100,000 homes.
“Cowessess takes pride in being leaders in the renewable energy space in Saskatchewan,” Rebecca Acikahte, business development manager for Cowessess Ventures, told CTV News Regina.
“We started with a one-megawatt solar project and wind turbine in Regina,” Acikahte added. “A couple of years ago we added on 10 MW of solar for the Awasis solar project, and now, we’re doing 200 MW of wind with the Bekevar project.”
Bekevar Wind LP is a partnership of Innagreen Investments and Awasis Nehiyawewin Energy Development Limited Partnership, a Cowessess First Nation-owned entity that holds a 17% equity stake in the project. The project received C$173 million in investment from the Canadian Infrastructure Bank, a $50-million contribution from Natural Resources Canada through its Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways program, and $98 million in debt financing from Germany-based Norddeutsche Landesbank.
The Bekevar Wind Energy Project is distributed over roughly 20,000 acres, including on private land in the rural municipalities of Kingsley and Hazelwood, and on three quarter-sections (500 acres) of Cowessess First Nation reserve land. The project will also include 106 kilometres of medium-voltage underground cables to connect the turbines, and 18 kilometres of new road.
The project is framed as a source of jobs for the people of Cowessess First Nation. “We’re keeping an eye on the employment and making sure that we could have as much [as possible] of our band members benefitting on the project—not only during operations, but also during construction as well,” Cowessess Ventures Ltd. CEO Jake Sinclair told The Flatlander that
“So right now, we’re just in the construction phase, and we’re looking over our long-term plans for what operations look like, and what maintenance contracts look like, as well.”
