The 0.1 square-kilometre solar farm will be built at the site of a former Sawmill in Anahim Lake, and its construction and operation will employ many community members, including those who work at the diesel generator, according to O'Riley.
A First Nation in central British Columbia says it will take a step toward "energy sovereignty" when it builds what officials say will be the largest off-grid solar farm in Canada.
"We believe that solar energy will be the source of our ability, for a lot of our families, to live off the grid," Price told CBC News on Friday from Anahim Lake, which lies around 380 kilometres northwest of Vancouver in B.C.'s Chilcotin region. On Friday, the Ulkatcho Energy Corporation , which owns the project, signed a historic 20-year agreement with B.C. Hydro, promising that the public utility will purchase the energy created by the solar farm and integrate it into power lines and a storage system to serve the community.
"It's important for people to understand how important this project is as part of our larger climate goals, as part of our reconciliation goals with First Nations," O'Riley said. "And it really is a beacon for others."Ulkatcho First Nation elected councillor Corrine Cahoose says the solar farm is an important step for the nation's economic, environmental and cultural self-determination.
"We're all the knowledge keepers of the land. We know every mountain, we know every tree, we know every metal, we know all the animals, we know where they hang out," she added. Wildfires and icy roads often cause power outages, preventing truckloads of diesel from making it to the remote community before generators run out.
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