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Federal investment to support clean energy planning with QUEST Canada, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and Frog Lake First Nation

SASKATOON — Federal funding of $650,000 will be provided to QUEST Canada to evolve and adapt its Accelerating Implementation of Renewable Energy (AIRE) for Indigenous Communities project to expand knowledge of local energy systems and developing pathways to accelerate clean energy opportunities in their community.

The adapted project, AIRE for Indigenous Communities, will be deployed over three years with three rural Indigenous communities: Pelican Narrows and Southend in Northern Saskatchewan, governed by the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, and Frog Lake First Nation in Alberta.

“The Government of Canada is pleased to collaborate with Indigenous communities to unlock economic opportunities in the clean energy sector while supporting communities to move past diesel reliance and access more affordable energy,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources Canada. “Through investments like the one we announced today with QUEST in the AIRE for Indigenous Communities planning project, we are taking steps toward a net-zero future together.”

QUEST Canada will provide training and support for the participating communities in building capacity to plan and implement land-based renewable energy initiatives.

Indigenous AIRE will provide an entry point for Indigenous communities to work with QUEST on identifying and pursuing clean energy opportunities. QUEST Canada will provide training through the development of a publicly available toolkit that will provide remote, Indigenous communities with the means to establish and deploy more collaborative planning processes for local renewable energy development and will contribute to clean energy jobs, knowledge and skills development.

QUEST Canada and its partners also contributed to the project, bringing the total investment to $1,154,000.