Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
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RENEWEDPOWER A The need for green energy is marrying the fortunes of Canada's First Nations to renewable energy projects, and often in-house counsel and outside lawyers are forging the relationships. By Andi Balla s the wind blowing across Canada's wide-open spaces hits Weather Dancer 1, a wind turbine in southern Alberta that generates enough energy to power about 460 homes, there is a buzz in the air about the past and future of energy. The turbine was built a decade ago, when one of the area's First Nations, the Piikani, predicted the wind of the future would blow on the direction of renewable, carbon-free energy production. And because the idea of renewable energy comes as naturally to the Piikani as their beliefs on respecting the environ- ment, Weather Dancer 1 was aptly named after an integral part of a traditional worship ceremony. But what made Weather Dancer 1 even more special is that it is the first proj- ect of its kind in Canada built by a First Nations company, the Piikani Utilities Corp. Since its inception, Weather Dancer 1 became an example of what Canada's Aboriginal Peoples can achieve through working on renewable energy projects in co-operation with energy companies. Weather Dancer 1, which is a joint venture with EPCOR Utilities Inc., placed the seed for other wind turbines in the area, but more importantly, it showed the way many others are now following. As Canada tries to be a global leader in reducing carbon emissions by turning its vast natural resources into sources of green energy, a renewable energy industry is quickly growing to meet the demand. That growth is fuelling a new relationship between Canada's First Nations and the energy companies that need access to their reserves and traditional territories to build hydroelectric or wind-power projects. In most cases, in-house counsel and outside lawyers who are forging the relationships, say there is great potential for success but also warn of some common pitfalls. With internal and external factors driving up the number of proposed renew- able energy projects, many potential developments involve negotiations with First Nations, says Ron Stuber, a partner at Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP in Vancouver. INHOUSE AUGUST 2010 • 25