Paving the path to a brighter future First Nations Major Projects in B.C.

PAVING THE PATH TO A BRIGHTER FUTURE

First Nations Major Projects in B.C.

The First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) is a nonpartisan, business-focused not-for-profit organization with a mandate to provide members with capacity tools, support, and advice that enable members to make informed business decisions about major projects planned or occurring within their traditional territories.

Advancing major projects is the core of FNMPC’s service delivery. FNMPC has and continues to successfully assist First Nations with developing creative financing solutions to break down common barriers that First Nations face in financing their participation in major projects. FNMPC provides strategic advice to help members maximize benefits from their participation in projects for their communities.

Currently, FNMPC is actively working on seven major projects located across Canada, each with a First Nations ownership equity investment component, and a portfolio exceeding a combined total capital cost of over $17 billion. FNMPC also offers services in environmental stewardship and land-based planning, support in developing strategic partnerships, best practices, and engagement, as well as research and advocacy on key public policy issues impacting Indigenous participation in major projects.

Another core component of FNMPC’s mandate is convening First Nations, industry, and government, which enables FNMPC members to network and build important relationships. FNMPC achieves this by hosting diverse workshops and events, most notably the annual Industry Engagement Event (“IEE”). The IEE conference, now entering its sixth year, attracts over 1,300 Indigenous, Industry and Government leaders’ from across North America and is the largest event of its kind. The 2023 IEE Event “The Values Driven Economy” takes place April 24 & 25 in Vancouver B.C.

Clarke Lake Geothermal Project

The Clarke Lake Geothermal Project (CLGP) is a joint economic development initiative of Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN) to re-purpose the Clark Lake gas field as one of Canada’s first commercially viable geothermal electricity production facilities. The field is located on, and adjacent to, Fort Nelson First Nation Reserve #2 land.

The 7 MW geothermal electricity generation plant will produce clean, renewable baseload electricity with a 95 per cent capacity factor. The clean energy generated by CLGP will displace gas fired generation on which the region is currently 100 per cent dependent.

In addition to providing sustainable revenue for the region, the CLGP will generate employment and bring economic vibrancy to Fort Nelson. The clean energy generated will directly offset the burning of fossil fuels and deliver an historic commercial scale demonstration of geothermal energy production in Canada. It will help to make a case for reducing reliance upon fossil fuels and paving the way for future developments in Canada where geothermal resource exists. This project exemplifies British Columbia’s environmentally sustainable development initiatives through its CleanBC plan.

As a First Nations-led economic development initiative, CLGP advances Indigenous reconciliation.

It displaces gas fired generation within the region reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It will provide baseload renewable electricity to the region demonstrating geothermal energy as a new clean energy technology in Canada and de-risking future projects.

CLGP would be a Nation Building

project that will raise the Canadian profile of FNFN. It will generate 58,254 MWh of clean power per year using a renewable source of energy which would be naturally replenished throughout the power plant’s useful life.

Unlike other renewable sources such as wind or solar, geothermal provides a reliable and sustainable source of energy. Geothermal development activities result in lower longterm land disturbance than other conventional and renewable methods of power generation.

It re-purposes a petroleum industrial site for clean energy development. Excess heat from the plant can be utilized to stimulate additional economic opportunities in the region. Some opportunities for the Fort Nelson Region could be domestic heating, industrial heating, food security, industrial food production, hydrogen production, mineral extraction etc. The project produces a positive, sustainable and long-term revenue stream for the Nations and the region.

CLGP would incubate a wide variety of skills and provide a stable source of employment, throughout the project lifecycle which include startup, exploration, feasibility drilling, construction, and operations.

Approximately 10,000 workdays are expected to be created during the well field development phase; approximately 40 per cent of which will be for positions requiring little or no direct experience. Unlike other renewable sources such as wind or solar, geothermal provides a reliable and sustainable source of energy. Geothermal development activities result in lower long-term land disturbance than other conventional and renewable methods of power generation.

NeToo Hydropower Project at Kenney Dam

The FNMPC first received a request for capacity support on the NeToo Hydropower Project in August 2017. Today, FNMPC is assisting Cheslatta Carrier Nation in exploring this project in collaboration with Rio Tinto. The vision is for a spillway and hydroelectric powerhouse to be built at the Kenney Dam site located southwest of Vanderhoof, B.C. NeToo means “our water” in the Cheslatta Carrier dialect.

For Cheslatta, the NeToo Hydropower Project is more than just an economic development endeavour. It is also about reclamation and environmental improvement. Should the project be found to be commercially viable, it will assist in regulating the flows in the Nechako Reservoir which comprises part of Cheslatta’s traditional territory. Currently, without the NeToo Hydropower Project in place, the occurrence of flooding makes core parts of Cheslatta territory unusable.

This project is in the investigative study phase. FNMPC is providing a range of services to Cheslatta to support their engagement on the project, including the use of FNMPC’s member developed Major Projects Assessment Standards, which are helping to guide the terms of the environmental and habitat studies being carried out jointly between Rio Tinto and Cheslatta Carrier Nation.

Coastal Gas Link First Nation Equity Project

The FNMPC involvement in the Coastal Gas Link Equity Transaction (CGL) represents the most complex and intensive capacity development undertaking by the FNMPC to date.

In the spring of 2019, TC Energy announced that it would sell up to 75 per cent of the CGL project and that the sale would be conducted in two parts: 1) a commercial auction, and 2) a First Nation Set-Aside where the First Nations impacted by the project’s routing would be eligible to purchase equity in the project on commercial terms.

In May 2019, FNMPC members requested capacity support to participate in both the commercial process and the set-aside process. Within one moth of receiving the mandate, FNMPC assisted 12 First Nations in establishing a Limited Partnership under which they have participated in both sale processes, referred to as CGL First Nation Limited Partnership (FNLP).

While FNLP made it to the final round of bidding during the

commercial process, a competitive cost of capital necessary to complete the purchase of the equity could not be sourced, and FNLP was forced to leave the process. While disappointing, this result has provided FNMPC with a real time example of the challenges First Nations face in raising financing in the capital markets for equity investment in major projects. FNMPC has used this experience to further its work in assisting First Nations in breaking down these barriers for future major project opportunities.

Currently, FNMPC continues to provide advice and support to FNLP for their participation in the First Nations set-aside component of the equity transaction.

FNMPC has assisted FNLP First Nations in designing the project governance in a manner that has put community leadership in direct control of the day-to-day decisionmaking through a management committee. This was specifically designed to help FNLP communities build business capacity.

FNMPC’s support in the CGL Equity Transaction demonstrates the organization’s abilities to support its members with capacity and coordination services on large, complex, and commercially competitive transactions.

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More About FNMPL

The First Nations Major Projects Coalition is a collective group of First Nations, both elected and hereditary, who have made the decision to come together to advance our shared interests of gaining ownership in the major projects taking place in our territories. At the Coalition, we believe that economic opportunities must go hand in hand with environmental stewardship which is why we also provide technical support to First Nations in conducting impact assessments and environmental reviews in accordance with their laws and values. We are paving the way for a brighter future in this country – one that will bring about positive outcomes in terms of Indigenous peoples having a greater role in the economy and in terms of the environmental legacies we will leave for the enjoyment of our future generations. p