Recent Developments in Renewable Energy in Remote Aboriginal Communities, Nunavut, Canada

Remote aboriginal communities in Nunavut are entirely dependent on diesel powered electricity. This paper reviews the electricity systems in 25 remote communities, past renewable electricity projects and available renewable resources. Despite past efforts to introduce renewable energy into these communities, alternative energy generation is limited to a few district heating installations, and wind and solar demonstration projects. The high cost of deployment of renewable technologies in Nunavut’s isolated locations and limited government financial resources hinder communities’ participation in renewable electricity generation. However, growing demand and the necessity for diesel plant replacements or upgrades in 17 of the 25 communities, combined with recent decreases in the cost of solar and battery storage technologies, provide an opportunity for communities with high wind resources to integrate wind and solar projects into their electricity systems and to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.Keywords: Nunavut, remote aboriginal communities, indigenous communities, diesel, renewable electricity, wind, solar

Recent Developments in Renewable Energy in Remote Aboriginal Communities, British Columbia, Canada

Hydroelectricity has a long tradition in British Columbia, provides approximately 95% of the province’s electricity supply, and powers the electrical systems of several remote aboriginal communities. However, diesel generators remain in 23 remote aboriginal communities and a transition from fossil fuels to renewables is desired. This transition has been promoted through a series of Energy Plans from 2002 and the 2010 Clean Energy Act. One of the goals of the Act is to encourage economic development of First Nation and rural areas through the development of clean and renewable energy projects. The stage of development of these clean energy projects varies among communities and insights can be gained by reviewing progress to date. This paper reviews current community electricity systems, past renewable electricity projects, as well as available renewable resources, generation alternatives, and supportive targets and policies in British Columbia.  The results show that two communities recently connected to the newly constructed Northwestern transmission line, and that 15 out of the 23 remote aboriginal communities participate, or plan to participate, in renewable electricity generation to reduce diesel dependence and greenhouse gas emissions, and to increase self-sufficiency.Keywords: British Columbia, remote aboriginal communities, indigenous communities, diesel, renewable electricity, energy transition, climate action policie

Recent Developments in Renewable Energy in Remote Aboriginal Communities, Yukon, Canada

Remote aboriginal communities in Canada’s Yukon Territory are undergoing a transition from carbon-intensive diesel generated electricity to low carbon, renewable sources of electricity. Hydroelectricity is the main source of power in the territorial grid so the extension of the grid and the addition of new hydroelectricity sources offers one path to low carbon electricity future for some communities. In more remote parts of the territory, wind, solar and smaller hydroelectric generation projects are considered to reduce diesel consumption and the associated greenhouse gas emissions. Yukon’s Climate Change Action Plan promotes cutting the carbon intensity of electricity. This paper reviews community electricity systems, past renewable electricity projects, as well as available renewable resources, generation alternatives, and policies, plans and proposed future projects that could help transform the supply of electricity in the remote communities. The transition to cleaner electricity systems also creates an opportunity for new investment models and development options where communities or private parties may replace public utilities as investors in new generation technologies. Government supports for the transition of communities from greenhouse gas intensive diesel generation to low carbon renewable sources of electricity include the microgeneration and Independent Power Producer policies. Initial success with small renewable energy projects in the remote Yukon communities is leading to additional and larger projects being planned.Keywords: Yukon, remote aboriginal communities, indigenous communities, diesel, renewable electricity, energy transition, climate action policie

Recent Developments in Renewable Energy in Remote Aboriginal Communities, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

An energy transition is being proposed for Labrador’s remote aboriginal communities that are currently serviced by diesel fueled electricity generators. The Nunatsiavut Regional Government (NRG) is concerned about electricity price increases, power outages and shortages that affect economic development in communities. The high cost of connecting the communities to the Labrador or Newfoundland interconnected grids restricts access to clean and affordable hydroelectricity provided by large projects in southwestern Labrador. Instead, the NRG proposed local renewable sources of electricity as the means to improve community wellbeing. This paper reviews the electrical systems, past renewable electricity projects, as well as available renewable resources for electricity generation in Labrador’s isolated communities. A transition from diesel generated electricity to less carbon intensive generation is promoted through utility scale run-of-river projects in five of the 16 communities and wind and solar pilot projects to be developed by the Nunatsiavut Regional Government. A net metering policy encourages community participation in small scale wind and solar applications to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, high electricity expenses and increase development capacity.Keywords: Newfoundland and Labrador, remote aboriginal communities, indigenous communities, renewable electricity, community ownership, wind, sola

Recent Developments in Renewable Energy in Remote Aboriginal Communities, Quebec, Canada

Northern Quebec’s 14 remote aboriginal communities are dispersed through the land of Nunavik and are entirely reliant on diesel for their electricity needs. This paper reviews Nunavik communities’ electrical systems, past renewable electricity projects, as well as available renewable resources for electricity generation. One renewable project was installed in Kuujjuaq in 1986, but despite the availability of wind and hydroelectricity resources, there were no subsequent renewable electricity installations in Nunavik. However, the need for alternatives to diesel powered electricity is recognized and communities are examining two options: the potential connection to the provincial grid to access reliable and clean electricity and the integration of renewable applications into local community diesel systems. The success of the Mesgi’g Ugju’s’n wind farm partnership with Mi’gmaq communities in Gaspe, and the Raglan Mine community scale wind turbine, combined with falling storage prices and technological advancements in controller design, could provide an opportunity for the development of high penetration wind projects in locations with high wind regimes, including some of Nunavik’s aboriginal communities.Keywords: Quebec, remote aboriginal communities, indigenous communities, renewable electricity, community ownership, wind project

When IT Evolves Beyond Community Needs: Coevolution of Bottom-Up IT Innovation and Communities

This paper examines how innovative uses of IT artifacts and their repurposing to fulfill emerging or unsatisfied user needs (bottom-up innovation, BUI) develop in community settings. Based on a longitudinal analysis of “HomeNets,” communities that developed residential internet access in Belarus over a 20-year period, we illustrate that the development of community BUI is driven not only by the needs of the innovating members but also by the interplay between the innovating members’ community context and technology and the interplay between the BUI technology and context. We demonstrate how these dynamics trigger community BUI development that goes beyond the needs and expectations of the innovating actors and impacts community evolution and long-term survival. Based on our findings, we develop a model of community BUI development. We discuss the theoretical implications of our findings, highlighting the role of technology and context in community BUI and its processual unfolding beyond the needs and intentions of the innovating members

When Institutional Logics Meet Information and Communication Technologies: Examining Hybrid Information Practices in Ghana’s Agriculture

In this paper, we describe how changes in the availability of information artifacts—in particular, information and communication technologies (ICTs)—among smallholder farmers in Ghana, led to a process of hybridization of information practices, and how this process could be linked to underlying institutional change. We use the notions of institutional carriers and activity systems to study the evolution of the prevailing “smallholder” institutional logic of Ghanaian agriculture toward an incoming “value-chain” institutional logic concerned with linking farmers to output markets, improving the knowledge base in agriculture, and increasing its information intensity. We draw on a mixed-methods approach, including in-depth qualitative interviews, focus groups, observations, and detailed secondary quantitative data. We cultivate activity theory as a practice-based lens for structuring inquiry into institutional change. We find that information artifacts served to link the activities of farmers that were embedded in the smallholder logic with those of agricultural-development actors that promoted the value-chain logic. Hybridization occurred through the use of artifacts with different interaction modalities. In terms of conceptualizing change, our findings suggest that hybridization of the two logics may be an intermediary point in the long transition from the smallholder toward the value-chain logic

Recent Developments in Renewable Energy in Remote Aboriginal Communities, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

An energy transition is being proposed for Labrador’s remote aboriginal communities that are currently serviced by diesel fueled electricity generators. The Nunatsiavut Regional Government (NRG) is concerned about electricity price increases, power outages and shortages that affect economic development in communities. The high cost of connecting the communities to the Labrador or Newfoundland interconnected grids restricts access to clean and affordable hydroelectricity provided by large projects in southwestern Labrador. Instead, the NRG proposed local renewable sources of electricity as the means to improve community wellbeing. This paper reviews the electrical systems, past renewable electricity projects, as well as available renewable resources for electricity generation in Labrador’s isolated communities. A transition from diesel generated electricity to less carbon intensive generation is promoted through utility scale run-of-river projects in five of the 16 communities and wind and solar pilot projects to be developed by the Nunatsiavut Regional Government. A net metering policy encourages community participation in small scale wind and solar applications to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, high electricity expenses and increase development capacity.Keywords: Newfoundland and Labrador, remote aboriginal communities, indigenous communities, renewable electricity, community ownership, wind, sola

Exploring the Value of Business Analytics Solutions for SMEs

There is an increasing recognition of the need for organisations to make effective use of the information which is available to them, that sources of information have expanded hugely and that analytics offers organisations the possibility of insights which could not otherwise be obtained. Sophisticated analytics, however, have been seen as the preserve of large organisations but is this is, potentially, changing. In this paper we have explored the potential value of business analytics solutions in the specific case of smaller organisations and we have highlighted how such organisations may start to drive value from such analytic tools