Event Recap: Baker Lake Town Hall (July 22, 2024)
- Kivalliq Alternative Energy
- Jul 27, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Nov 26, 2024
Kivalliq Alternative Energy
July 22, 2024
Overview
Who: Kivalliq Alternative Energy
What: Town Hall – Baker Lake Wind Energy Project
When: July 22, 2024
Location: Recreation Centre, Baker Lake
Target Audience: Baker Lake community members
Attendance: Approx. 35 people
Hosts:
Blaine Chislett, Energy & Sustainability Manager, Sakku Investments Corporation (SIC)
Dana May, Project Development Manager, Northern Energy Capital (NEC)
Ruben den Uyl, Renewable Energy Analyst, NEC
Summary of Presentation
Kivalliq Alternative Energy (KAE), a partnership between Sakku Investments and Northern Energy Capital, is exploring the benefits of a wind and energy storage project in Baker Lake.
The Project aims to generate locally-produced clean energy, reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels, and increase energy sovereignty, security and economic development in the Kivalliq Region.
Wind energy offers benefits like local clean energy generation and reduced reliance on costly imported fossil fuels, but trade-offs such as land disturbance during construction, noise, and potential interactions with wildlife must first be fully understood.
The Project concept includes 1-3 turbines with 46m-69m height, a new road and electrical line
The Project is estimated to produce 5,000 MWh of renewable electricity annually, meeting 40% of Baker Lake's total demand and displacing 1,160,000 L of diesel per year.
Site selection criteria consider factors like wind speed, distance to objects, environmental impact, and wildlife concerns.
Two sites are being studied at the moment, north of the community along the AEM road.
Community engagement is a key aspect of the project, with ongoing opportunities for feedback and collaboration.
The project timeline includes community engagement, wildlife monitoring, site selection, design & engineering, and construction phases.
Download Baker Lake Town Hall Presentation (PDF):
Questions from the Community
Click the arrows to view answers
Q1: Are the wind turbines safe if the wind comes from different directions?
Answer: Today’s commercially available wind turbines generate clean energy using wind coming from all angles. They have special features like a rotating hub, aerodynamic blades, strong towers, and sensors. These features help wind turbines adjust to even the strongest winds.
Wind turbines designed for the arctic have been successfully tested and are in operation today in the most extreme weather conditions. The sensors and rotating hub allow the rotor blades of the turbine to turn towards the wind, making sure it works optimally and safely in the winter months when energy is needed the most.
Q2: Why does the project choose these types of wind turbines and not, for instance, omnidirectional turbines?
Answer: The currently proposed turbines are specifically designed for cold climate applications.
They are what’s called horizontal-axis wind turbines and work great for accessing stronger winds higher up in the air.
Omnidirectional turbines, which are vertical-axis wind turbines, have the advantage of always catching wind, are easier to install and make less noise, but have some disadvantages as well. Mainly, they are less efficient, they are hard to scale for larger projects and because they are lower to the ground, they are more susceptible to ice accumulation, lowering the efficiency of the turbines further and potentially even damaging them.
The project in Baker Lake requires a large amount of energy, making the omnidirectional turbines not attractive because they would cost more to build, would use more land and are more expensive to maintain and operate. In contrast, commercially available cold-climate horizontal-axis wind turbines are specifically designed to be most efficient, both in energy generation and costs, in cold climates such as Baker Lake.
Q3: With the average energy demand of Baker Lake being 2.2 MW, why is the proposed project up to 3 MW?
Answer: When we say that the turbines are 3 MW, we mean that they generate a maximum of 3 MW of electricity. We call this the capacity of the wind turbines. Since the wind speed is variable the turbine will produce anywhere between 0MW and 3MW at any given time. Project optimization studies have been completed using locally collected wind data with the result being 3MW of wind energy capacity coupled with a battery system to store any surplus energy produced, for use at a later time, as the ideal project size. This will maximize the litres of imported diesel the project can displace.
Q4: Will the wind turbines blow the smell from the sewage lake to the community?
Answer: No. The turbines are powered by the wind, which means that the turbines themselves don’t generate the wind, they use it. This may cause the natural wind to slow down after the turbines, reducing the transport of smells; however, no change to the community is envisioned in this regard.
Q5: Will there be job opportunities for the community and if so, when?
Answer: We do anticipate job opportunities for the community, in both the construction and operation phase of the project. It is one of KAE’s core objectives to generate local jobs. We strive to not only supply the jobs, but also the required training to execute the job, so (the lack of) previous education doesn’t become a barrier for accessing these jobs.
Depending on the progress of the project these job opportunities will be made available through the community. We intend to hold a job market in the community at that time. Our current estimation is that this would be somewhere in the second half of 2025, with spring 2026 being the start of the first jobs.
Q6: Will it be possible to speak Inuktitut during the jobs of the project?
Answer: KAE is an Inuit owned business that supports the local culture, community and language. Almost all of our written work is available in both Inuktitut and English. We support people to speak the language that they are most comfortable with, and we are always mindful of the reality of working with both Inuktitut and English employees, partners, suppliers and other stakeholders.
Q7: Will there be learning opportunities for the youth, and will internships be available?
Answer: Yes, there will be learning opportunities. KAE is planning a school visit in the fall to talk about renewable energy. At the same time, we are developing an Energy 101 course, an introductory course to (renewable) energy with the aim to educate everyone that is interested in energy. This course will be co-developed between the Yukon University and community representatives, to make sure the course reflects the needs and wishes of the community and takes into account community circumstances.
Internships may be possible throughout the project, and we will be looking into this in the future.
Q8: How will the youth be engaged throughout the project?
Answer: We are engaging with youth on different levels. First of all, we are in contact with the Youth Council of Baker Lake to hear their views and perspectives on the project. Secondly, we’ll be engaging with the schools in the community, to educate about energy and hear from the children in the school. Thirdly, all our public engagement sessions are open to all of the public and we highly encourage youth to participate and engage with us during these moments.
Q9: Will the Elders be engaged in the conversation?
Answer: We are working on directly engaging with the Elders in the community. We have initiated conversations with the Palaarvik Kablu Friendship Centre to organize some events for Elders to talk about the project.
Q10: Can we host a meeting with the elders and youth together, so they can share their knowledge of traditional names of locations and areas?
Answer: We are excited about this idea and will incorporate this in our future planning.
Q11: Can the wind turbines survive in extreme weather conditions, such as extreme cold, arctic storms and lightning strikes?
Answer: Yes, the wind turbines proposed for the Rankin Inlet project are specially designed to withstand extreme weather conditions, including extreme cold, arctic storms, and lightning strikes. Here's how:
Extreme cold: The wind turbines are designed to operate in temperatures as low as -40°C. The blades and other components are made of materials that can withstand these temperatures.
Arctic storms: The wind turbines are designed to withstand high winds and heavy snow loads. The towers are strong enough to support the turbines even in the strongest winds, and the blades are designed to shed snow and ice buildup. If the wind becomes too high, the blades will stop spinning to ensure safety.
Lightning strikes: The wind turbines are equipped with lightning protection systems that divert lightning strikes away from the turbines and into the ground.
In addition to these design features, the wind turbines are also tested in extreme weather conditions before they are installed. This testing ensures that the turbines can withstand the rigours of the Arctic environment.
Feedback from the Community
Click the arrows to view KAE's responses
Location #2 that we proposed during the Town Hall received some remarks from the audience. Firstly, this location lies on an important transit route to some hunting areas and lakes that many people use. Secondly, there might be some graves in the area.
Response: KAE will take this information into account. It should be noted that the area where the turbines will be located won’t be closed off. People are still able to reach them and pass by them unhindered by physical or legal barriers.
If Location 2 appears to be the one with most preference, extensive archeological research will be conducted to make sure that these are mapped and additional consultation with the public to discuss how best to approach this.
Attendees indicated that currently a lot of Elders weren’t reached with the announcement of the Town Hall and indicated that we should use the radio more for announcements.
Response: KAE is aware of the importance of the radio for communication and did reach out via the radio several times to announce the Town Hall in advance, however, our reach was not as extensive as we hoped. We will work on continually improving this for our next meetings.
Attendees indicated that summer is not the best time for reaching a large share of the community with a Town Hall event, since it overlaps with hunting season and many are out on the land.
Response: KAE acknowledges this feedback and are considering this in our future planning. We made the decision to proceed with this timing due to the need to keep advancing the project and do initial outreach in line with funding timelines. However, KAE will be continuously reaching out to residents of Baker Lake.
KAE will be back in the fall to continue discussions that build on the information learned in this visit, which allows the public to engage with the project again. This will be done multiple times throughout the project, to make sure that all community members have plenty opportunities to share their thoughts and concerns.
Kivalliq Alternative Energy team members host a town hall in Baker Lake to answer questions and gather feedback on the proposed wind energy project on July 22, after a few days of stakeholder meetings, community connections, and site-seeing. PHOTO: Ruben den Uyl
About Kivalliq Alternative Energy
Kivalliq Alternative Energy (KAE) is a leader in the clean energy transition in Nunavut's Kivalliq region. By developing renewable energy-generating projects, KAE is increasing energy independence for the remote communities it represents. KAE's projects nurture community benefits, grow local capacity and lay the foundations for powering the region's clean energy future. KAE is an Inuit-led partnership between Sakku Investments Corporation (SIC) and Northern Energy Capital (NEC).
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