Powering the North

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THE POWER OF SELF-SUFFICIENCY

[mk_dropcaps style=”simple-style”]W[/mk_dropcaps]ITH A SMALL AND WIDELY DISPERSED population, Nunavut faces the greatest energy challenges of 
all three northern territories. Every community has no choice but to manage its own grid and burn diesel to generate power. As a result, residential electricity rates can run to more than $1 per kilowatt-hour in the most remote communities. Even in Iqaluit, Nunavut’s capital and only city, residential rates top 60 cents.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]With its expenditures on diesel imports reaching $195 million a year, and various consumer subsidies costing a further $30 million, Nunavut’s government is certainly keen to develop alternatives to diesel for local electricity generation. But here’s the rub: the territory’s fleet of community generators is aging. The cost of replacement and increased maintenance is eating up capacity to invest in new technologies.

Change may be in the wind, however, or more specifically, in the water. In 2013, a group of northerners launched a new Iqaluit-based company called Apqak Renewable Energy with the goal of generating electricity for Iqaluit from tidal power in Frobisher Bay.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][mk_image src=”https://energy-exchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/BA.0801-16.jpg” image_width=”800″ image_height=”600″ crop=”true” lightbox=”false” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” title=”Apqak Renewable Energy, a new company in Iqaluit, hopes to install tidal turbines in nearby Frobisher Bay to supply electricity to the city. ” desc=”BRYAN AND CHERRY ALEXANDER / ALL CANADA PHOTOS” caption_location=”outside-image” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]“Frobisher Bay has 
one of the highest tides 
in the world,” says
Wayne Guy, an architect with offices in
Yellowknife and Iqa
luit, and Apqak’s chief
 executive. “It was identified there was a substantial resource there quite a while ago…. Iqaluit’s population and economy is such that now it’s feasible to harvest that resource.”

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][mk_blockquote style=”line-style” font_family=”none” text_size=”22″ align=”left”]A group of northerners has the goal of generating electricity for Iqaluit from tidal power in Frobisher Bay.[/mk_blockquote][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][mk_image src=”https://energy-exchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/47135-MedRes-1MWtidalstrea1.jpg” image_width=”800″ image_height=”600″ crop=”true” lightbox=”false” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” desc=”©CYRILABAD” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]Apqak’s proposal calls for installing water turbines in Frobisher Bay at depths where they would be out of the way of icebergs that float in. Cables would then connect the turbines to a substation to condition the electricity for sale to Qulliq Energy Corp. All in, Guy says the bay can readily support a 10-megawatt installation, enough to meet all of Iqaluit’s electricity needs. He adds that tidal power is an improvement over run-of-river hydro projects, which have been proposed in the area, because they are not subject to seasonal variations in water levels, which are at the lowest in winter when electricity is needed most.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]At the moment, Apqak’s proposal exists mainly on paper and the company is working to develop support for the concept. Guy says they have so far received interest from the Nunavut government and Qulliq Energy, as well as letters of support from the City of Iqaluit, the local chamber of commerce and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the organization that oversees the Nunavut Land Claim. The next step is to find financing for feasibility studies and to take the propos al through the regulatory process. If it succeeds there, Guy estimates Apqak will need to raise around $100 million to install the system.

That’s a big number, but it has value. With a population of 7,000, Iqaluit accounts for about one-third of electricity consumption in Nunavut. If cheaper electricity can be generated from tides, it could add up to substantial government savings. Apqak’s proposal could also open the door to private sector financing for electricity projects, creating a parallel channel to government spending for investment in energy infrastructure.

Best of all, it could make the case for the potential of renewable and sustainable energy in one of the North’s most challenging environments.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][mk_padding_divider size=”40″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]by Cooper Langford[/vc_column_text][mk_padding_divider size=”40″][mk_button dimension=”three” size=”large” outline_skin=”dark” outline_active_color=”#fff” outline_hover_color=”#333333″ bg_color=”#13bdd2″ text_color=”light” url=”/resources/energy-exchange-magazine/issue-4/” target=”_self” align=”left” fullwidth=”true” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”15″ animation=”scale-up”]READ MORE STORIES FROM THE SUMMER 2015 ISSUE OF ENERGY EXCHANGE MAGAZINE[/mk_button][/vc_column][/vc_row]