The federal government is contributing close to $1 million to the Mother Earth Renewable Energy (MERE) wind farm project on the M'Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada will provide $500,000 towards the project for the construction and installation phase, while FedNor will contribute $480,000 for engineering and project management costs associated with the installation of the turbines. The First Nation will contribute $3 million of its own capital to the project.
“The M'Chigeeng First Nation community welcomes this funding and looks forward to the completion of this project,” M'Chigeeng Chief Joe Hare said in a news release. “This project brings us one step closer to becoming a leader in sustainable development in the renewable energy sector and generating additional income for the community. Our commitment to this project also includes securing additional funding of $8,500,000 to complete the project.”
MERE will encompass two 2 MW turbines on 100 acres of band-owned land on a bluff overlooking the community, which will generate 4,000 KW of power annually. M'Chigeeng has secured a 20-year contract with Ontario Power Generation to sell power to the grid at 15 cents per kWh—13.5 cents plus a 1.5-cent Aboriginal adder—through the Feed-in Tarrif program.
A number of jobs for band members are expected to be created during the construction and operational phases of the project.
Site preparation work has already begun and construction is slated to begin in September, with completion estimated for November.
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