New Manitoba energy plan envisions wind farms built with Indigenous partners

Manitoba's new energy plan calls for the construction of 600 megawatts of wind power, an exploration of neighbourhood-scale geothermal heating systems in new subdivisions, and discounted household electricity rates at off-peak hours once "smart meters" are more widely used.

The 17-page energy plan, published by the province Friday, also repeats NDP government promises to install 5,000 heat pumps and offer consumers rebates for electric cars.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is touting the plan as a means of keeping energy rates affordable, but critics are assailing the document as a high-level vision statement that does not include hard targets for reducing carbon emissions, specific timelines for rolling out new programs or cost projections of any sort.

The most notable aspect of the energy program is the wind farms, to be built in partnership with Indigenous governments who will be invited to invest in new turbine systems through a loan-guarantee program the Kinew government plans to roll out next year.

"We've put forward a plan here that proposes a new way forward of building new capacity, specifically through nation-to-nation partnerships with Indigenous nations here in Manitoba, to ensure that we can keep energy rates as low as possible," Finance Minister Adrien Sala said at a Friday news conference.

The creation of 600 megawatts of new wind power would nearly quadruple the province's existing wind-generating capacity.

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