Ginoogaming looking at wind power

Energy could be blowing in the wind around Ginoogaming.

July 23, 2009: Volume 36 #15, Page A2

The First Nation has taken its first steps towards the renewable energy market.

The community’s Rocky Shore Development Corporation recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Montreal-based Geilectric Inc. to conduct a $42,000 wind monitoring campaign along the shores of Long Lake.

“The wind project is a glorious opportunity for us to secure stable revenue and this will be a godsend to our depressed band coffers,” said Ginoogaming Chief Celia Echum.

The project involves the construction of a 60-meter wind measurement tower on the community’s powwow grounds, which was completed on May 29, and the collection of wind data over the next year, including wind speed and direction.

“After about a year we will look at the data,” said Adolph Rasevych, Rocky Shore Development Corporation’s president and project developer, explaining the data will be sent via satellite to the Geilectric office in Montreal. “If it looks good, we will move to the next stage.”

Stage two involves advanced project development and financing and stage three involves the installation of five wind turbines at a cost of $28 million.

Rasevych said the community of about 170 people had already completed preliminary wind studies in 2007, which led to the current study. The community is located on the east side of Long Lake, near the northern end.

The five turbines would produce about 10 MW of energy, which the community plans to sell to the Hydro One grid, located about three kilometres away near Longlac along Highway 11.

The grand scale of the wind turbines is easier to comprehend when scaled beside average sized men.
-Wawatay stock photo

Published in Wawatay Online, July 23, 2009, Volume 36, No. 15

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Sounds like a good idea. How

Submitted by Wanda (not verified) on Mon, 2009-08-03 07:29.

Sounds like a good idea. How will it be implemented? What will it do for the rez? I think this will be a real important step for other First Nation people to follow. It is a good clean source of energy.