The GNWT has just announced the arrival of a wind turbine in Inuvik, as well as other vital components of the Inuvik Wind Project.
The turbine is a single 3.5 megawatt turbine, and its arrival is part of the 2030 Energy Strategy. This turbine is part of the strategy’s plan to help reduce the usage of diesel consumption in the NWT’s largest diesel-powered community by 30 percent – offsetting diesel consumption in Inuvik by three million litres annually. Construction of the project began in January of 2022.
The Inuvik Wind Project includes the installation of the turbine and small battery storage system, a six-kilometre access road, and a distribution line connecting it to existing lines near Inuvik’s Mike Zubko Airport.
The newly arrived equipment, which includes the turbine base and blades, is being stored at the Marine Transportation Services (MTS) facility in Inuvik while construction of the access road and other site preparation activities continue. Despite challenges to the transportation of the wind turbine, caused by flooding, crews were able to successfully deliver the turbine to Inuvik without sustaining damage or delaying the project.
Along with the arrival of the wind turbine, progress on other aspects of the project include:
· Construction of the access road is approximately 50 percent complete and is scheduled to be finished by November 2022.
· Distribution line materials are on site and installation has begun.
· Thermosyphons have been installed and turbine foundation work continues.
In 2018, the Inuvik Wind Project was the first of its kind in the NWT to receive funding under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. The Government of Canada has committed up to $30 million toward the project, with an additional $10 million contribution from the GNWT.
This project is being completed by NT Energy, a sister company of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation. NT Energy focuses on renewable and low carbon energy projects and business development opportunities for the North. The Inuvik Wind Project is expected to be commissioned and operating by early 2023.
