Feds fund clean energy push for isolated Inuit in Labrador

Written By Peter Allan

Aerial view of Nain, the northernmost permanent settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador with a population of about 1,200. Roughly 92 per cent of the people who live there identify as Indigenous, primarily Inuit. Photo submitted by Jamie Hewlett

By Sonal Gupta

In remote Inuit communities along Labrador’s northern coast, Ottawa is pushing renewable projects forward where power is currently generated primarily by diesel.

The federal government recently announced nearly $22 million for clean energy projects in Labrador. The largest share is for a wind-and-battery system in Nain, a fly-in Inuit community of about 1,200 people at the northernmost end of Nunatsiavut.

For their community, the funding represents a key milestone — one that turns a long-planned project into a buildable one, Jamie Hewlett, regional energy manager with the Nunatsiavut government, told Canada’s National Observer.

“The project just doesn’t happen without that [federal] support,” Hewlett said. “The fact that we’re so far north — logistics alone make it hard to make a project fully viable.”

With the new funding, the Nunatsiavut government will be able to begin construction next summer. The project will include two 1.5-megawatt wind turbines and a battery storage system — supplying most of Nain’s electricity when wind conditions allow. Work on the access roads and turbine foundations is set to begin in 2026 with installation of the turbines planned for 2027. The project is expected to be up and running by the end of 2027 or early 2028.

The federal funding builds on earlier provincial support, including a $3 million contribution from the Newfoundland and Labrador government, and is part of a wider push to cut diesel use in remote communities.

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