Aboriginal communities are often located in remote areas, disconnected from the mainline power grid.
On Thursday, the B.C. government announced a $2.1 million injection of funds to support clean energy projects that would get more First Nations plugged into their own electricity supply.
The money is new but the program is not.
The Kwadacha First Nation located at Fort Ware north of Prince George and Williston Lake is already the site of a heat-electricity dual-track bioenergy system that got funding from the First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund.
The fund was created in 2010 and has already helped about 110 First Nations communities in some way.
The new money will extend and enlarge that initiative.
"It is a testament to the success of the First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund that we are able to provide additional funding based on the actual revenue from eligible projects," said John Rustad, the Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation.
"This new funding can be used to help more aboriginal communities reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions, while also becoming self-sufficient."
"The First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund was instrumental in kick-starting the Kwadacha Nation's Biomass Community Energy System and helping us move away from diesel generation for heat and power," said Kwadacha chief Donny Van Somer.
"We ran off diesel for too long and this project brings some much-needed infrastructure to our very remote community. It also created a few much-needed jobs and is a step closer to our vision of self-sustainability."
These projects are on the leading edge of alternative energy, since they are usually located far away from the major power generation sites like hydroelectric dams.
These First Nations are exploring the possibilities of, like Kwadacha, bioenergy from the forest, run-of-river hydroelectric systems, wind and solar, and geothermal options.
The fund also provides First Nations with revenue-sharing agreements that allow them to receive a portion of water and land rents charged by the province for new clean-energy projects. If an eligible clean-energy project site is on a traditional territory, First Nations may be eligible for a revenue-sharing agreement.
