Work on the Inuvik High Point Wind Project access road is still underway, three years after shovels first hit the ground.
Completion of the road has been on hold while ongoing issues are before the courts, Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) communications manager Doug Prendergast told NNSL media on Aug. 12
"There is still additional work remaining to complete the access road to the standard that was built into the original contract," he said. "Completion of the road from raw roadbed to gravel surface will occur once all remaining legal issues have been resolved.
"The original contract price to construct the access road was $9.8 million. As the result of ongoing litigation, NTPC cannot discuss the value of payments made to date."
According to documents filed in NWT Supreme Court, work on the access road effectively stopped on Nov. 9, 2022, after NTPC's sister company, NT Energy, wound up in a dispute with ONEC Construction Ltd. which was managing the project. NT Energy informed contractors on Feb. 10, 2023, that it had terminated the contract.
Details of the conflict between NT Energy and ONEC spilled out in NWT Supreme Court in an Aug. 6 decision by Justice Annie Piche, which concluded a claim by ONEC alleging that the contractor for the road had breached terms of the deal and damaged ONEC property SA国际影视传媒� claims Piche threw out, noting ONEC did not provide any evidence to back up its claims.
ONEC was the lone contractor to submit a bid for the road construction tender out of four businesses invited to do so. As the GNWT had approved a direct tendering process for the Gwich'in Tribal Council (GTC), the GTC had the choice of who the GNWT approached for tender.
ONEC then hired Northland Builders to construct the road, but Northland filed a notice of default to ONEC in September 2022, claiming outstanding invoices. A trial is now being scheduled to determine how much Northland Builders is owed in outstanding charges.
During the trial, Piche noted that both parties explained Northland's participation was needed to secure the contract, as Northland is a Gwich'in-owned business and "the prominent role of Gwich'in businesses was key to obtaining this contact."
While the access road continues to be an ongoing issue, the wind turbine itself is making a difference. Prendergast told SA国际影视传媒 that from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, the turbine provided 19 per cent of Inuvik's power SA国际影视传媒� generating approximately 5.6 gigawatt hours of electricity. To generate that much power would require burning 39,473 litres of diesel.
"Performance of the wind turbine in Inuvik has been improving as NTPC staff gain operating experience with the battery energy storage system and microgrid controller," said Prendergast. "The amount of wind generation feeding the Inuvik grid fluctuates depending on local wind conditions and other factors."
Prendergast added that NTPC is projecting the turbine will produce 10 gigawatt hours between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, nearly doubling its output.
