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This initiative is a collaboration between First Nations Leadership Council, BC First Nations Energy and Mining Council and Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions.

Indigenous Clean Energy Opportunities

Through the ICEO process, the Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions and the First Nations Energy and Mining Council seek to engage First Nations rights holders and organizations in a collaborative dialogue to position First Nations to fully participate in current and future opportunities in British Columbia’s clean energy sector and align the Province’s strategic clean energy policy and legislation with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.

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ICEO News

  • ICEO Workshop: June 27 & 28, 2023

    The ICEO hosted a two-day virtual energy workshop discussing the hydrogen and electricity sectors, featuring sessions on BC’s changing electricity landscape, BC Hydro’s UNDRIP implementation, and promising hydrogen market opportunities.

    A poster for the June ICEO Workshop.

    A two-day workshop of information sharing, discussion, and exploring opportunities in the electricity and hydrogen sectors for Indigenous communities in B.C.

    In June 2023, the ICEO hosted a workshop on the hydrogen and electricity sectors. Our two-day virtual energy workshop explored B.C.’s changing electricity sector, B.C. Hydro’s UNDRIP implementation and hydrogen market opportunities.

    We visualized our clean energy aspirations for British Columbia with the help of an Indigenous graphic facilitator who creatively captured our discussions.

    Resources from the event can be found on our resources page.

    Agenda

    Day One: Electricity 101 & Implementing the Declaration Act in BC’s Electricity Sector

    Learn more about recent provincial announcements for clean electricity production, generation, transmission, distribution, utilities, and regulation as well as alignment of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration) Act into B.C.’s electricity sector.

    9:00 – Opening & Acknowledgement

    • Kwatuuma Cole Sayers, Director of Clean Energy, FNEMC, ICEO Lead
    • Tricia Thomas, Facilitator, FNEMC, Tumuxw Communications
    • Larry Grant, Musqueam Elder

    B.C. Context

    9:30 – The Evolving Future of Electricity in B.C.

    • Les MacLaren, Assistant Deputy Minister, Electricity & Utility Regulation
    • Simon Coley, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic & Indigenous Partnerships

    10:00 – B.C.’s Electricity Grid & Markets

    • Bruce Chow, Manager, IPP Portfolio Management, BC Hydro
    • Alex Tu, Senior Strategic Technology Specialist, BC Hydro
    • Monique Stevenson, Call for Power Project Lead, BC Hydro
    • Michael Corrigan, Senior Marketing Manager, Powerex

    11:05 – Break

    Utilities, Regulation, & Indigenous Utilities

    11:10 – Role & Regulation of Utilities

    • Damon Boyle, Legal Counsel, B.C. Utilities Commission

    11:20 – B.C. Utilities Commission Indigenous Utilities Regulation Inquiry

    • Kwatuuma Cole Sayers
    • Jeremy Cairns, Lead for Indigenous Relations, B.C. Utilities Commission

    11:45 – Panel: Q&A

    • Moderator: Kwatuuma Cole Sayers
    • Nicola Simon, Executive Director, Facilities & Planning, B.C. Utilities Commission
    • Dr. Judith Sayers, President Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, ETAG Member
    • Les MacLaren, Assistant Deputy Minister, Electricity & Utility Regulation

    12:25 – Lunch Break

    Energy Planning & Funding

    1:00 – Community Energy Planning & Funding Sources

    • Sarah Powell, Program Specialist, New Relationship Trust
    • Sean Brennan, Advisory Council Member, Wah-ila-toos NRCAN
    • Leona Humchitt, Advisory Council Member, Wah-ila-toos NRCAN

    Generation, Transmission, & Distribution

    1:30 – Generation, Transmission, & Distribution Basics

    • Jason Rennie, Business Development Manager, BC Hydro

    2:00 – Breakout session

    • Accessing Capital

    2:50 – Break

    BC Hydro UN Declaration Implementation Plan

    3:00 – Presentation

    3:30 – Breakout session

    • Co-development/Indigenous-led development
    • Ownership
    • Transparency/Evaluation

    4:15 – Closing and next steps

    4:30 – Adjourn

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    Day Two: Exploring Hydrogen Opportunities for First Nations

    Explore what factors should be considered by communities when making decisions on hydrogen projects. Uncover what questions and barriers exist when it comes to First Nations opportunities in hydrogen. Discover what resources are needed to overcome barriers and move hydrogen projects forward for BC First Nations.

    9:00 – Opening & Acknowledgement

    • Kwatuuma Cole Sayers, FNEMC Director of Clean Energy, ICEO Lead
    • Tricia Thomas, Facilitator, FNEMC, Tumuxw Communications
    • Larry Grant, Musqueam Elder

    9:25 – Recap of Workshop #1

    Evaluating Hydrogen Opportunities for B.C. First Nations

    10:00 – Where does hydrogen make sense for different communities and why?

    10:45 – Break

    11:00 – Breakout session

    • Hydrogen Project Decision-Making Pathway

    12:00 – Lunch Break & Prizes

    Industry

    1:00 – Introduction to Industry Session

    • Doug Slater, Vice President, FortisBC

    1:10 – Panel: First Nations Hydrogen Opportunities (Ask the Experts)

    • Moderator: James Delorme, Former Chief of Klahoose First Nation

    1:45 – Federal and provincial funding opportunities

    • Anna van der Kamp, Executive Director, Clean Fuels, Natural Resources Canada
    • Rebecca Luedtke, Policy Advisor, Electricity & Utility Regulation

    Capacity Building for BC First Nation Projects

    2:00 – Breakout session

    • Have you explored developing a hydrogen project?
    • What opportunities and barriers/concerns have you identified? 

    2:40 – Break

    2:50 – Breakout session

    • What resources do you need to overcome barriers or leverage opportunities?
    • What resources would be helpful?

    3:30 – Closing and next steps

    4:00 – Adjourn

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  • Hydrogen Energy Workshop

    A Hydrogen Energy Workshop was held virtually to explore hydrogen energy and opportunities for Indigenous communities across B.C. Read the Recording of Proceedings from the workshop and check out the video recording.

  • ICEO Tables

    Implementation activities Currently planning implementation of ICEO activities under three “tables” as jointly endorsed over the summer by the First Nations Leadership Council and the Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. The three tables are the Electricity Table, the Hydrogen Market Opportunities Table and the Legislative Standing Table.

  • Video Recordings from Workshops

    The March 1st and March 3rd Workshops were held. Thank you to all the participants!

    To see the slides on the ICEO overview and process, including anticipated next steps, that were presented at the workshops, click here.

    Agenda from the two workshops are available:

  • Pre-read Materials for March 2022 Regional ICEO Workshops

    Pre-read materials for before the March 1st and March 3rd, 2022 Regional Workshops:

    Agenda for March 1st / Agenda for March 3rd

What people are saying

“This engagement brings us together in the spirit of reconciliation with this tremendous opportunity to shift to a clean energy future that addresses the challenges of climate change.”
– Bruce Ralston, B.C. Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation

“First Nations are already leaders in demonstrating how clean energy must be one of the tools that moves us towards economic reconciliation with the Province of B.C. while reducing our carbon emissions and responding to the climate crisis. We expect this new initiative will fully support energy sovereignty for our communities and ensure that any clean energy development project recognizes and affirms our inherent and constitutionally protected Title, Rights and Treaty Rights, including the rights of sovereignty and jurisdiction.”
– Regional Chief Terry Teegee, B.C. Assembly of First Nations

“Our communities have been leading the charge in advocating for more sustainable clean energy sources that would assist in addressing the climate crisis. First Nation-owned clean energy utilities have an opportunity to be at the forefront of this sector and the ICEO process will be a critical component in helping to chart the pathway.”
– Robert Phillips, First Nations Summit, Political Executive