THUNDER BAY - How energy is transmitted throughout the region is changing dramatically and with several transmission projects well underway, those involved want to learn from each other how to do things right and how to keep moving forward.
The inaugural Regional Energy Conference was held in Thunder Bay on this week, bringing together three major projects underway in Northern Ontario, including Wataynikaneyap Power’s 22 First Nation’s North of Dryden Transmission Project, the East West Tie Transmission Line with project partners Supercom Industries and its six First Nation partners, and the Greenstone Transmission Project.
“The intent of the conference is to have a discussion together and various elements in the partnerships we’ve developed and also what are the best practices and how we are going to move forward in the energy sector,” said Margaret Kenequanash, CEO of Watay Power.
The conference included discussions on the politics of transmission projects, training, employment, and community readiness.
Matthew Dupuis, president of Supercom, said one of the most important aspects of transmissions projects underway in the region are the jobs that will be created for people living in First Nations communities.
“We all wanted to tell our own stories of what we’ve done, how this started, where’s it come to, what it means, what type of jobs are out there, how you get those jobs, and the long term benefits we are talking about for the First Nations,” he said. “We want to make sure the jobs are long term as well. Making sure there is long-term sustainability, they are transferrable, that this wasn’t just a flash in the pan.”
Dupuis added that people are being trained all across Northern Ontario, which is creating a pool of skilled labourers.
“Now that we are going to have the people who have these skills, it makes development that much easier,” he said.
Jordan Hatton of the Greenstone Transmission Project said he is hoping to learn how other transmission projects further in development got to where they are today.
“Our group is from the Greenstone region and we are trying to bring new transmission into that region because of reliability issues,” he said. “We want to proceed with large developments and they do not have adequate power. That includes our community developments themselves.”
Hatton said communities in the Greenstone region are in desperate need of reliable power and while the project has faced many barriers, he believes by learning what other projects have done, the Greenstone Transmission Project will continue to move forward.
“I’m really curious to see how the other communities managed to make it to where they did,” he said. “The East West Tie for example was once just a dream and is now a reality and it’s now going to provide that connection to those communities and it’s going to be areal asset for those First Nations along the route, the members are going to get trained up, and that’s exactly what we want for our communities.”
“There’s a lot happening in the north and it’s really exciting,” Hatton continued. “There are a lot of projects in the foreseeable future we are hoping to see happen in the far north and closer to home.”
