Innagreen, the global renewable energy investment platform, and Cowessess First Nation recently opened the Bekevar Wind Farm. Located in Saskatchewan, Bekevar will supply 200MW of zero-emission power, providing the equivalent of 100,000 homes with clean, sustainable electricity each year.
The project is jointly owned by Innagreen and Cowessess First Nation, who owned 83 per cent and 17 per cent respectively. Bekevar is situated in the rural municipalities of Hazlewood, Kingsley, and on Cowessess First Nation reserve land. Developed by RES, the project is an example of how commercial energy companies and local communities can work together to achieve decarbonization in Canada and deliver local economic investment.
The project, featuring 36 Nordex N155/5.X turbines, will provide Cowessess First Nation with a significant annual return, enabling them to support the continued investment in economic opportunities and help fund essential community programs.
“The Bekevar wind project is a great example of the type of projects we need to meet Canada’s growing need for more electricity and build a thriving economy,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. “It’s creating good energy jobs in Saskatchewan, opportunity for First Nations people, and powering the equivalent to 100,000 homes in the province. A clean electricity grid underpins a strong economy in the 21st century, and the federal government’s $50 million investment in the Bekevar wind project is money well spent.”
Construction started in May 2023 following a multi-party innovative financial package to secure equity and debt financing with a $173 million loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), a $50 million contribution from Natural Resources Canada, through its Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways program, and $98 million in debt financing from Nord/LB. Electricity generated at Bekevar will be purchased by SaskPower through a 25-year power purchase agreement.
“We are excited to a part of this important initiative and to see it come to completion,” said Chief Erica Beaudin of Cowessess First Nation. “As Indigenous people, we feel it is our duty to not only invest in clean energy, but to place ourselves front and centre as leaders in clean energy. Yotin (‘wind’ in Cree) plays an important role in our cultural ways of being and firmly believe this mighty spirit has many more teachings and blessings to bestow upon us all.”
Innagreen provides institutional investors with access to investments in utility-scale renewable energy projects. Innagreen’s first two projects in Canada, Hilda and Bekevar, were funded by the global infrastructure asset manager, Morrison through open-ended global infrastructure fund, The Morrison & Co Infrastructure Partnership. Innagreen plans to raise a further $500m of capital to deploy in utility scale solar, wind and energy storage projects around the world, bringing a c.1GW portfolio of projects to market in early 2025.
For further information about Innagreen, click here.
For further information about the Bekevar project, click here.
Featured image credit: CIB.
