A new agreement with the B.C. government will enable the Kanaka Bar Indian Band (KBIB) to share in half of the proceeds from the Kwoiek Creek Hydroelectric Project for the next 40 years.
The revenue-sharing agreement is enabled by B.C.’s First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund, which aims to promote increased First Nations participation in the clean-energy sector.
The Kwoiek Creek Hydroelectric Project is a 49.9 mega-watt run-of-river project located 14 kms south of Lytton and west of Kanaka Bar on the lower reaches of Kwoiek Creek, a tributary to the Fraser River. The project includes a 71-km long, 138-kilovolt transmission line to transmit electricity generated to the BC Hydro Highland Valley Substation near Mamit Lake. At full capacity, the project will provide enough hydro-electricity to power approximately 20,000 B.C. households.
The developer of the project is Kwoiek Creek Resources Limited Partnership, a partnership between the KBIB and Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. The project created 250 construction jobs, with 40 per cent going to First Nations.
“This clean energy project is the result of many years of hard work and dedication by our community, our partner First Nations, and Innergex,” said KBIB Chief James Frank. “It was developed in a spirit of mutual respect and collaboration. As a source of clean, sustainable energy it will provide long-term benefits for our community and others in British Columbia as well.”