DEVELOPING RENEWABLE ENERGY IN ARCTIC AND SUB-ARCTIC REGIONS AND COMMUNITIES

NEXT STEPS
Arctic state governments could further facilitate equity
ownership opportunities for Northern communities
through implementing policy measures and programs
to encourage the prudent development of publicprivate
partnerships in the renewable energy sector in
ways that protect the public interest.
To encourage PPPs, regulatory constraints against
IPPs in certain areas will need to be addressed. We
acknowledge that overtures from prospective IPPs
have generally been viewed skeptically. This is because
utilities prefer to maintain control of their system, the
scope or scale of the project proposed is often not
well aligned with the community needs, and there is
a pervading perception that if revenue is earned from
a project, the cost of energy delivered must be higher.
This does not have to be the case.
Further policies and programs are needed to encourage
public-private partnerships for northern and remote
communities to participate in the renewable energy
sector. One example of a program that can support
this is the First Nations Power Authority (FNPA). In
Saskatchewan, FNPA is a not-for-profit organization
that provides knowledge and expertise, and helps to
build relationships between Northern and Aboriginal
business interests and Industry. FNPA can assist
communities and utilities in developing RFPs to clearly
define technology or project needs when there is an
opportunity for private sector investment to meet
a specific infrastructure need. This process would
decrease the transaction costs and make it easier for
private developers to respond to opportunities that
have the support of local stakeholders, including the
local electric utility. Similar programs could benefit
northern communities in other regions.
37