In this month’s lead post for the Climate Change Collective, Molly at Transatlantic Notes shared 10 terrific examples of climate wins. Not surprisingly, Molly’s list contains examples of initiatives led by Indigenous groups around the world. Today’s post continues the conversation with projects demonstrating the leadership of Indigenous peoples in green energy innovation in Canada.

Climate wins to give you hope

Last month’s Climate Change Collective post provided some of my favourite sources of positive environmental news. Sharing good environmental news is critical in a world where misinformation is rampant and it’s rare for positive environmental news to make headlines.

I was delighted to see Molly’s post focusing on climate comebacks.  Molly provided 10 examples of initiatives that are reviving ecosystems, cutting emissions and protecting wildlife. Please check out her post. It will inspire you!

These “climate comebacks” matter not just because they offer hope, but because they prove that when action is taken, it works. And in times like these, hope grounded in evidence is exactly what we need.

Molly, Transatlantic Notes

Climate Comeback: Hopeful News You Need to Know About

Indigenous-led green energy projects in Canada

Indigenous peoples have a deep respect for the land and take their responsibility to preserve our Earth for future generations seriously. As I read Molly’s piece, I thought of the innovation we’re seeing from Canada’s Indigenous peoples in the area of green energy.

In recent months, I’ve seen several headlines about Indigenous-led green energy projects. Indigenous Clean Energy reports roughly 200 major projects are in operation, along with 2,000 smaller-scale projects.

To build on Molly’s post, here are some examples of Indigenous-led green energy projects that offer hope.

Generating geothermal energy from an abandoned oil well

Geothermal energy shows a lot of promise in the green energy revolution. The Fort Nelson First Nation in northeastern British Columbia is developing an abandoned oil well into a geothermal energy plant.

The band is using royalties received from oil prospectors over the years to fund the 100% Indigenous-owned Tu Deh-Kah project. Expected to go online in 2027, it will be one of Canada’s first electricity-generating geothermal facilities. The project is estimated to generate nearly enough energy to power the First Nation and the adjacent town of Fort Nelson.

Turning sawmill wood waste into energy

In Saskatchewan, the Meadow Lake Tribal Council’s bioenergy project turns waste from the NorSask sawmill site into green power. Instead of burning waste from the sawmill, the carbon-neutral plant can produce 55,000 megawatt hours per year to the SaskPower grid. That’s enough to power 5,000 homes.

Powering the future with wind

In New Brunswick, the Tobique First Nation is the majority owner of the Burchill Wind Project outside Saint John. The wind farm’s 10 turbines have the capacity to generate 15% of the electrical needs for this city of 75,000 people.

Balancing power demand with battery storage

Here in Southwestern Ontario, an electric battery storage facility on Six Nations of the Grand River land opened earlier this year. The battery storage facility is Canada’s largest and one of the largest in the world. The 278 lithium-ion battery units draw and store electricity from the grid when power demand is low and return it when demand increases. 

Replacing diesel generators with solar energy

In Anahim Lake, British Columbia, Ulkatcho Energy Corporation is transforming an old sawmill site into a solar power plant that will reduce diesel use by more than 60%. Scheduled for completion in October, this is the largest off-grid solar project in Canada.

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I’m impressed by the broad range of Indigenous-led projects. These examples confirm the potential of green energy to reshape our future. I was also pleased to see the Government of Canada and several of our provincial governments backing some of these projects. There is hope!

About the Climate Change Collective

The Climate Change Collective started when I left a comment on a blog post by Jamie Ad Stories. Jamie and I wanted to find a way to keep environmental issues top of mind for everyone, so I posted on social media to see what kind of interest there would be in a climate-change-related blogging collaboration. The Climate Change Collective was born!

For over three years, the members our group took turns writing a monthly blog post sharing their unique perspective about climate change. After the lead post was published, the rest of the group kept the conversation going by sharing a link to the post on their blogs along with their thoughts and ideas.

More Climate Change Collective posts

Check out Two years of the Climate Change Collective series for a recap of the posts we published in the first two years.

Latest posts in the series

• Meet the Climate Change Collective members and learn about the topics we covered in year three in Celebrating 3 Years of Climate Change Awareness and Environmental Education.
• Food storage tips that will reduce waste and save you money
• Racing Towards Green: How Formula 1 is Embracing Sustainability

Thanks to Molly for being part of our Climate Change Collective and for kicking off this month’s conversation with so many inspiring examples of climate wins.

Have you heard of other climate wins or innovations? Drop me a comment below with your thoughts.