The Manitoba Affordable Energy Plan will provide significant opportunities for clean power and EV projects, including opportunities for First Nations and Métis communities to have majority interests on new wind projects.
Guiding Principles
In September of 2024, the government of Manitoba unveiled the Manitoba Affordable Energy Plan (the “Plan”) to incentivize climate friendly choices in an affordable way. The Plan’s guiding principles promote clean energy, while committing to new opportunities for Indigenous communities to participate and benefit from the energy transition through equity ownership.
Increasing Supply of Affordable Energy and Grid Reliability
Currently, the Province of Manitoba has two operating wind projects, with an aggregate capacity of 258 MW. The government has identified an opportunity to grow that capacity. Manitoba Hydro is issuing an Expression of Interest for up to 600 MW of near-term wind generating projects, with each project to have majority Indigenous ownership. This Expression of Interest follows a similar trend of recent procurements in other Canadian provinces, as highlighted in our recent blog posts.
Moreover, the government of Manitoba has also announced new investments in their electrical grid to support reliability and more efficiency during the energy transition, including potential capacity enhancements at existing hydro generating stations in the 200 MW range.
Indigenous-Owned Wind Projects
The Plan contemplates that at least 51% of the equity of each project will be owned by Indigenous communities.
In support of these opportunities, the Plan contemplates an Indigenous loan guarantee program which will provide First Nations and Métis communities with support to finance their ownership in these projects. Further details will be announced in the province’s 2025 budget. The loan guarantee program will see alignment with current Federal programs to maximize support for Indigenous ownership in the Projects.
The Government of Manitoba is exploring the possibility of increasing generating capacity in Northern Manitoba with the Inuit government of the Kivalliq region to increase grid reliability and economic growth.
Some Indigenous communities have already announced that they are positioning themselves to participate in the Expression of Interest.
Electric Vehicles
The Plan outlines opportunities for new and used electrical vehicles (“EV’”) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (“PHEV”), including new building charging stations owned by Manitoba Hydro, adopting new standards and best practices for connecting EV charging stations to the grid and incorporating EV-Ready requirement in the Manitoba Building Code and Electrical Code.
Key Takeaways
The Plan will present a number of opportunities for First Nations and Métis communities, developers, lenders, investors and contractors to become involved in new projects in Manitoba in support of the energy transition. The Indigenous loan guarantee program will also provide crucial financing needed to support equity investment on these projects from First Nations and Métis communities.
The authors would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of Sarah Afriyie, articling student at law.
