Canada Infrastructure Bank Commits to Indigenous Equity Initiative with First Battery Energy Storage Projects in Nova Scotia.

The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) has announced its first commitment under its Indigenous Equity Initiative, which aims to enable First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities to hold ownership stakes in projects that CIB is also investing in. The projects will be constructed in the communities of White Rock, Bridgewater and Waverley, each of 50MW and 4-hour duration (200MWh). They will be built by Nova Scotia Power (NS Power), the main electricity supplier to the province. The bank’s target is to finance at least CA$1 billion worth of projects that benefit Indigenous communities in Canada. While this may be CIB’s first loan to enable Indigenous participation in battery energy storage system (BESS) ownership, Canada’s largest BESS project is currently co-developed by the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nations community in Ontario.