Indigenous-Led Clean Energy stream

Currently accepting expressions of interest

The Indigenous-Led Clean Energy (ILCE) stream of the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs) is accepting expressions of interest (EOIs) as of Thursday, November 28, 2024 until the close of this intake period on Friday, January 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM PST.

Completion and submission of an EOI form does not automatically advance a proposed project for funding consideration, nor is it a prerequisite to participate in any future requests for proposals under the ILCE stream.

Objectives

The ILCE stream of SREPs is dedicated to increasing meaningful and equitable Indigenous participation in the clean energy transition through the support of Indigenous-led clean energy projects.

SREPs is committed to advancing renewable energy infrastructure projects that are Indigenous-led and have demonstrated direct community benefits, such as meaningful Indigenous ownership or participation, revenue generation, job creation, skills development, and/or improved energy affordability or reliability.

“Indigenous-led projects” are those that support meaningful involvement of an Indigenous community or organization throughout the life of the project, while also including significant economic or other tangible benefits to an Indigenous community or organization. Meaningful involvement may be that the project is driven by or initiated by the Indigenous community or organization; there is Indigenous equity ownership or revenue sharing of the project; Indigenous control over decision-making or project oversight; or other criteria that expresses Indigenous leadership in the project.

Eligible projects

The ILCE stream funds Indigenous-led clean electricity deployment (e.g., wind, solar, hydro, battery-storage) and grid modernization projects. Under this stream, SREPs also provides capacity support for pre-development and deployment readiness activities, and strategic regional energy planning initiatives.

Current funding opportunities

SREPs is accepting EOIs to the ILCE stream in order to identify the scope of Indigenous-led clean energy generation, storage, and grid modernization projects across Canada that may be eligible for SREPs funding. The EOIs submitted through this process will provide insights into the priorities of Indigenous communities and organizations which will inform the parameters of a subsequent request for proposals to be launched in the first half of 2025.

Submitted EOIs may also be used to verify project eligibility for additional funding opportunities.

For the purpose of this request for EOIs, eligible projects are those that meet the following criteria:

• Deployment and retrofit of large-scale renewable energy, distribution or transmission, and/or energy storage projects, which may be capable of providing grid services.
• Deployment of technologies, including hardware and software, to retrofit existing renewable and clean energy projects to enable them to provide grid services.

Eligible projects must have a minimum net installed capacity of 500 kilowatts (kW) if majority Indigenous owned (51% or more), or 4 megawatts (MW) if not majority Indigenous owned (<51%).

Expression of Interest submission process

EOIs will be submitted through the NRCan funding portal. Interested applicants must request a copy of the EOI form and instructions by emailing sreps-erite@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

Potential applicants are encouraged to review the form prior to preparing and submitting an EOI through the funding portal. EOIs will be accepted through the funding portal until January 31, 11:59 PM PST 2025. Applicants who have requested an EOI form will receive an email notice with a link to the NRCan funding portal once it has launched.

Future funding opportunities

Further ILCE stream intake processes will take place over the life of the Program and will have specific eligibility criteria, which may vary for each request. The SREPs distribution list will be notified when new funding opportunities are launched.

As with this EOI process, ongoing engagement throughout the duration of SREPs will help determine the parameters of future intake processes. Your feedback, comments and/or suggestions are encouraged. Please contact the SREPs team at sreps-erite@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

Timeline

The following timeline is notional and may be subject to change.

1. November 28, 2024

   Launch of first request for Expressions of Interest

2. January 31, 2025

   Deadline for submitting Expressions of Interest

3. Spring 2025

   Launch of first request for proposals

4. Ongoing

   Engagement and design of future calls for proposals under the ILCE stream

Contact us

Please direct questions about this stream to the SREPs Team: sreps-erite@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

To receive ILCE stream updates by email, please send us a request with Add me to ILCE Distribution List in the subject line.