In this tiny Indigenous community, a clean power project is driving the economy

Former Hesquiaht Chief Richard Lucas dreamed of a day when his community of Hot Springs Cove would have clean, self-sufficient energy. After 17 years, that dream came close to fruition with the 2021 opening of the Ahtaapq Creek Hydro Project which has reduced the community’s reliance on diesel by 71 per cent. 

Lucas lived to see construction begin in 2018, but sadly did not live to see the opening and a long-awaited victory ceremony on Aug 8. 

The plant, which the Hesquiaht operate, employs four community members and is now an economic driver for the nation. 

It is an important step toward reconciliation, said Chief Councillor Mariah Charleson. 

“First Nations people, we relied on ourselves for thousands and thousands of years, and that's how we survived. And the ability to get back to that is a huge step in the right direction.” Charleson said. 

The Ahtaapq Creek Hydro Project is completely owned by the nation and managed by the Barkley Project Group, which has installed other similar hydro projects in remote communities along the coast. 

It’s a run-of-river hydropower plant, which means that it removes some of the water from a stream, diverts it through a turbine, then returns it farther downstream.

The project employed 17 part-time and four full-time First Nation members during construction — meaning more than half the village’s population of just 40 people took part. 

“It's a nation-building project that's going to help these nations advance their right to self-determination,” says Kwatuuma Cole Sayers, executive director of Clean Energy of British Columbia, a key organization that lobbied to get the project funded. “Through energy sovereignty, they'll be able to invest those dollars that went to diesel into something else … improving that quality of life for their citizens. So it's maybe only 40 people, but it's also fundamental to bringing more folks home.”

Construction took three years and received about $16 million of federal and provincial funds, in addition to support from other community organizations and donors. It was a hard sell to get a hydro power project funded for a community of 40 people, said Charleson. 

“I think that was probably the biggest piece, is getting Canada and B.C. to understand the importance of this project, to put resources towards it, to make it happen,” said Charleson. 

The introduction of hydro power has reduced the community’s reliance on diesel power by 71 per cent — 90 per cent in winter — saving approximately $375,000 a year. The savings allow them to pour funds into vital infrastructure for Hot Springs Cove, which is only accessible by seaplane or boat. 

“It would take one walk through the community to quickly see and realize that the conditions that our people are living in are not adequate,” Charleson said. “It's really promising that we're not spending that amount of money moving forward on something just to keep the lights on; it can actually go to things like infrastructure within our community and just things to keep our people who are living at home healthy and safe.”

The community also has also installed a few solar panels, however at times must still burn diesel. The ultimate goal would be a complete transition so they no longer need to transport the fuel in and out of their community, she adds. 

The Hesquiaht First Nation has 750 members, but only 40 remain in the reserve community of Hot Springs Cove — and funding for the nation depends on the population of people living on the reserve, Charleson said. The hydro project, combined with the nation's efforts to expand education offerings from grade seven to grade 12, are part of what they hope will make people want to stay. 

“Just knowing that this is Hesquiaht owned and operated is something to just be really proud about for our residents living at home,” said Charleson.