Ottawa announces an investment of more than $2 million in the program Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities (EPCRE) in the geothermal energy development project ofADK Holdings Ltd.in the Northwest Territories.
Controlled by the Acho Dene Koe First Nation Economic Development Corporation, this project aims to mobilize the population of Echaot’l Koe (Fort Liard) to develop the geothermal resources of their traditional territory.
According to a press release from Natural Resources Canada, the federal government’s investment will support the transition of Indigenous communities to renewable energy, thereby reducing the use of diesel for heating and creating jobs in the Fort Liard region.
In the Far North as elsewhere in the country, clean energy opens up tremendous economic opportunities while helping households reduce their energy costs and air pollution, says Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson.
For his part, the Member of Parliament for the Northwest Territories, Michael McLeod, adds that “this project is one more stone that the Government of Canada is bringing to the building of reconciliation, and a recognition of the know-how of indigenous peoples in the fight against climate change and the protection of the environment.
Launched in 2018, the EPCRE program received $220 million over 8 years to reduce the use of diesel for heating and electricity in Indigenous and remote communities.
It also received an additional $233 million over 5 years in the 2021 budget.
The program supported 111 projects nationally, including capacity building initiatives, major capital projects, innovation projects and biothermal projects, explains Natural Resources Canada.
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