A quick guide to the Taltson hydro expansion

The proposed Taltson hydro expansion should head to regulatory approval by March 2027 and could be completed as early as 2034, the GNWT says in its latest briefing.

The proposed expansion is one of three major projects the NWT has spent the past year advancing with renewed federal interest.

It involves connecting Taltson, an existing South Slave hydro facility, to North Slave communities like Yellowknife through a transmission line across Great Slave Lake.

What stage is Taltson at?

Taltson could eventually power 11 communities and about 70 percent of the territory’s population, the GNWT believes.

However, a key challenge facing the project is finding enough industrial customers to justify the proposed expansion.

At an industry conference earlier this month, the GNWT said it needs two or three major industrial loads to support the full 60-megawatt expansion.

Potential demand from mining, defence infrastructure and electric transportation could help change that calculation, but the territorial government said it needs more certainty about how much power potential customers would require – and for how long.

Replacing diesel in droughts

The proposed grid connection is intended to address another long-standing challenge: the vulnerability of the North Slave system during periods of low water.

Most of the North Slave is powered by the Snare hydro system, which generates power from a separate watershed than the Taltson hydro dam.

Connecting the two systems means one could offset the other during droughts instead of having to rely on diesel generators.

The expanded grid could also allow renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and batteries, to be integrated more easily.

What’s the timeline?

If an environmental and regulatory application is made by March 2027 and approvals and financing progress as planned, the GNWT said a construction decision could be made by 2029 and the expansion completed as early as 2034.

That timeline remains aggressive, the GNWT said, with the project still facing environmental assessment, technical, commercial and partnership work.

Political challenges

Caroline Wawzonek, the NWT’s major projects minister, said territorial and Indigenous signatories on a 2021 memorandum of understanding have formed a steering committee to talk about a commercial structure and shared ownership of the facility.

However, the Deninu Kųę́ First Nation recently formally withdrew its support for the Taltson hydro expansion and Arctic Economic and Security Corridor.

“We’re trying to create a model where people can see themselves in the project, where they can see the benefits of the project, and where they can have a voice in how that project moves forward,” said Wawzonek this month. That approach takes time and discussion, she said, when partners have different priorities. 

The NWT is also working to advance two other major infrastructure projects: the Mackenzie Valley Highway and Arctic Economic and Security Corridor.

On September 8, the federal government announced a $405-million investment in the Mackenzie Valley Highway to support design work and the building of related bridges.

On August 15, the Tłı̨chǫ Government and Yellowknives Dene First Nation announced they reached consensus on a proposed rough route for the Arctic Corridor – a highway that would start west of Yellowknife and run to Nunavut’s Arctic coast.