A green path to self-determination
A development partnership between the thirteen Mi’kmaw communities in Nova Scotia means a more environmentally sustainable and economically secure future going forward.
A rendering of the future Trenton Battery Storage Site (stack not part of the project). Photo courtesy of NRStor Inc.
Looking at today’s clean energy and infrastructure landscape in Nova Scotia, you’ll find the Mi’kmaq standing proudly at the fore, but as Crystal Nicholas of the Wskijnu’k Mtmo’taqnuow Agency (WMA) points out, this wasn’t always the case.
“For a long time, major infrastructure and resource projects happened to us, not with us,” says Nicholas, of Potlotek First Nation. She’s been the president and general manager of WMA since its inception in 2019, and over the last few years, she and the team at WMA have been busy securing Mi’kmaw ownership on large-scale energy projects.
WMA is an economic development partnership between the thirteen Mi’kmaw communities in Nova Scotia, grounded in the understanding that a united front helps the Mi’kmaq better navigate opportunities, build bigger, and reduce risk. Its approach is rare within Canada, with all First Nations of the province coming together under one umbrella for economic purposes.
But beyond its economic goals, WMA, and the Mi’kmaw communities it represents, deeply value their responsibility to the environment.
“From the very beginning, environmental sustainability was not separate from our economic goals. It's rooted in our traditional role as caretakers of our territory,” Nicholas says.
She adds that a focus on the environment shapes how WMA assesses potential opportunities and partners.
“We push for strong environmental protections, monitoring, and land stewardship. We also ensure that cultural sites and traditional land use are respected,” she says.
This focus has resulted in a list of impressive projects and partnerships that uphold Mi’kmaw values. The portfolio includes a partnership with Natural Forces on Phase 1 of the Benjamin’s Mill Wind Farm (34MW) in West Hants, as well as what will be the province’s largest wind farm: the 168MW Goose Harbour Lake Wind Farm, with partner Port Hawksbury Paper.
WMA is also playing an equity role in battery projects such as the 150MW Trenton Battery Energy Storage Project, with partners NRStor Inc. and Aecon, as well as three other battery storage sites with Nova Scotia Power (50MW each, in White Rock, Bridgewater, and Waverly), the first of which will be operational this year. These battery sites will store energy when demand for electricity is low or during periods of high renewable energy generation and then release it back to the grid as needed; ultimately ensure a consistent power supply.
Also recently announced, is a WMA-Nova Scotia Power partnership through the Wasoqonatl (meaning “to illuminate”) transmission line, that will run alongside an existing line from Onslow, Nova Scotia to Salisbury, New Brunswick — with the Canada Infrastructure Bank providing a loan to finance WMA’s equity role. This new 160km 345kV line will improve grid reliability during times of stress, integrate new clean energy, and create a better link to New Brunswick and other North American clean energy resources.
This long list of projects, realized over a short period of time, means the Mi’kmaq are now leading critical infrastructure and renewable energy developments that will help Nova Scotia achieve its goal of 80 per cent renewables by 2030.
In addition to provincial impact, Nicholas says that benefits are also being felt at the local level in Mi’kmaw communities.
“Every megawatt we help build means fewer emissions and more revenue that flows back to our communities to fund housing, education, language revitalization and more,” she says, adding that there have been numerous employment opportunities for the Mi’kmaq through the many projects — ranging from construction and project management to executive leadership.
Through the Mi’kmaq’s initial participation in small-scale renewables as part of Nova Scotia’s Community Feed-in Tariff Program fifteen years ago (designed to encourage community-owned clean energy through guaranteed prices), to the recent creation of the WMA and its role securing equity opportunities, the Mi’kmaq are building a path toward economic self-determination.
Nicholas is proud to say that the path is also a green one.
“Environmentally, it means we have the power to choose projects that align with our responsibilities to the land and the water. For us, prosperity and stewardship are intertwined, and by being owners, we make sure clean energy isn’t just green, it’s just.”
Climate Stories Atlantic is an initiative of Climate Focus, a non-profit organization dedicated to covering stories about community-driven climate solutions.
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