The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency is contributing $619,625 to a renewable energy project at the Colomac Mine camp site.
The Tłı̨chǫ Investment Corporation – the business arm of the Tłı̨chǫ Government – and STLLR Gold announced the new funding for their two-year solar farm project in a Tuesday news release.
They said the project will cost a total of $774,543 and will involve installing solar panels and an energy storage unit at the site.
The TIC estimates the solar farm will reduce diesel consumption at the site by 86 percent, or approximately 51,000 litres of diesel per year – equivalent to 138 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
“This project will continue to contribute to our renewable energy capacity and will also serve as an exemplary model of sustainable development for the NWT and Canada as a whole,” TIC chief executive officer Paul Gruner said in a statement.
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According to the news release, Yukon-based solar company Solvest will install an 88-kW solar array and 200-kW energy storage unit with batteries, inverters and controls. The equipment will be transported to the mine via winter road in 2025. Solvest will also train staff to operate and maintain the unit.
The solar panels have an estimated lifespan of 25 years and the batteries 15 years.
Colomac, an open-pit gold mine approximately 200 km northwest of Yellowknife, operated in the 1990s. The property and mineral licences are currently owned by STLLR Gold, which was formed through a merger between Moneta Gold and Nighthawk Gold earlier this year.
