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8TuesdaySeptember232014ENVIRONMENTRENEWABLEENERGYFortChipewyancutsribbononrstsolarprojectByMEAGANWOHLBERGThecommunityofFortChipewyancuttheribbononitslong-awaitedsolarenergyproj-ectlastweekmarkinganimportantmilestoneinitsquestforindependencefromfossilfuels.Therst-eversolararrayincludeseightphotovoltaicpanelscapableofgenerating1.7kWmountedontheAthabascaChipewyanFirstNationsACFNsyouthandelderlodgewhereamassivebatterystoragesetupwillallowthebuildingtoexistentirelyoffthegrid.The14000pilotprojectwillbemonitoredcloselyasapotentialmodelforsolararoundtherestofthecommunitywheretherearealreadytalksofsettingupcabinswithsolarpanelsandbatterystoragetoeliminatetheneedfordieselgeneratorsaswellasonsomehousingstartingwitheldershomes.WerejusttryingitasaprojecttoseehowwecanbenetfromitinthefuturesaidGregAdamscoordinatorofhousingandspecialprojectsforACFN.Inthefuturewearelook-ingatsomeofourcabinsonourreserveandeveninthecommunity.IfthepowerweretogooutAdamssaidthesolaratthelodgewouldbeabletoprovide72hoursofbackupelectricityandheatingwhichwouldbeespeciallyusefulforthecommunityselderssomeofwhomrelyonelectricityfulltimeforkidneydialysisandothermedicalreasons.IntheeventofapoweroutagewecouldtransportsomeoftheelderstothelodgeforemergencyAdamssaid.TheisolatednorthernAlbertacommu-nitylocateddownstreamfromtheoilsandscurrentlylivesoffhigh-costpowergener-atedbydiesel.Overthelastseveralyearsresidentswithinthecommunityhavebeenteaminguptondsourcesofcleanercheaperandmorereliableformsofenergytheycanuseonthelongterm.BecausethecommunityandACFNinparticularhasbeenastaunchopponentoffurtherexpansionintheoilsandsindustryupstreamAdamssaidmanyresidentsaredeterminedtowalkthetalkofcleanenergysolutions.Wewanttotrytogetawayfromusingfos-silfuelshesaid.Weretryingtoworkonsomethingelseinsteadofpeoplelookingatusandsayingwerehypocritesbecauseweneedfossilfuelstoo.AssistedbytheregionalenvironmentalgroupKeepersoftheAthabascafather-sonteamJerryandSidPaschenwerecommissionedtoleadtheinstallationwiththehelpoflocaltradespeopleandapprenticeseagertolearntheprocess.WehaveayoungcrowdthatwearetrainingandtheyareveryintriguedbyitAdamssaid.ImoverwhelmedathowinterestedtheyareinhelpingandthefatherandsonarenotjustsayingCanyougetthattoolformetheyareaskingthemtodojobsandshowingthemhow.JerryPaschenamasterelectricianof43yearssaidithasbeenapleasuretoworkontheprojectwithmembersofthecommunityfromlocalelectricianstoapprentices.Imtrainingpeopleatthesitebecausethisisadominoeffect.Itsgoingtobearealmodelandfromthatotherprojectswillbecarriedouthesaid.Thenovicesareshadowingthetradespeopleandlearningbydoingratherthanbyoutofatextbook...Bydoingapracticalprojecttheresthecamaraderiethedialoguebetweenwork-ersandhelpers.SowerenotjustcominganddoingthejobandleavingwewanttomakesurethattheruleswhicharelaidoutintheCanadianelectricalcodearefollowedtothet.Itisextremelygratifyingtohaveaprojectlikethison-handherewhereahighlevelofinterestisshown.Paschensaidheiscondenttheprototypeforoff-the-gridenergywillperformwelloverthewinterandpavethewayforhouseholdstostartdecreasingtheirrelianceondieselfuel.ItsagreatformofsatisfactionrelyingonMotherNaturetoprovideuswithenergyheconcludedanditsapleasuretoseeaccep-tancethatthisisworkable.YouthandeldersinFortChipewyancuttheribbonontheirrstsolarprojectlastFridaywhichwillsupplyoff-gridpowertotheeldersandyouthlodgeonLakeAthabasca.PhotoJesseCardinal