Naujaat’s $19M solar project comes online

ENVIRONMENT  SEP 18, 2026 – 5:16 PM EDT Naujaat’s $19M solar project comes online Renewable energy project expected to supply 30 per cent of Naujaat’s annual electricity demand Community leaders, government officials and project partners gathered in Naujaat on Wednesday to mark the completion of a $19-million solar and battery-storage project that’s expected to supply about 30 per cent of the community’s annual electricity needs. Pictured here, from left to right, is Ernest Douglas, QEC president and CEO; Gwen Healey Akearok, minister responsible for QEC; Alex Guilbeault, QEC’s vice president of operations and engineering; Otito Atansi, QEC’s manager of alternative and renewable energy; Stephan Angotialuk, QEC’s assistant operator in Naujaat; and Jonathan Siusangnark, QEC’s plant superintendent in Naujaat. (Photo courtesy of Qulliq Energy Corp.) By Nehaa Bimal From her cabin just outside Naujaat, resident and former Kivalliq Inuit Association director Helena Malliki can see the solar panels she spent years pushing to bring to her community. “I get a feeling that I’ve done something for the community,” she said in an interview Friday. Malliki served as the KIA director for Naujaat while plans were developed for the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link, a proposed 1,200-kilometre transmission line that would carry hydroelectric power north from Manitoba.  Naujaat and Coral Harbour were not included in the planned route, which was designed to connect five mainland communities: Arviat, Baker Lake, Chesterfield Inlet, Rankin Inlet and Whale Cove. Malliki said that inspired her to push for another option for Naujaat. “I was asking if we can get a windmill or a solar panel, and I fought for that,” she said. “And it happened.” The Ikayuut Solar and Energy Storage Project began supplying electricity to the community’s grid Aug. 20, ahead of a ribbon-cutting ceremony the project partners held Wednesday. The project was developed by Kivalliq Alternative Energy, a partnership between Sakku Investments Corp. and Vancouver-based Northern Energy Capital. Construction began in 2024. It operates under Qulliq Energy Corp.’s Independent Power Producer program, which allows independent renewable-energy developers to generate electricity and sell it to QEC. The Ikayuut Solar and Energy Storage Project is the first to operate under the program. The solar array is located at a reclaimed municipal scrapyard about 400 metres from the nearest homes in Naujaat, James…