An Indigenous-led social enterprise to make homes greener is being watered with government funding.

Efficiency Manitoba, the province’s Crown corporation focused on reducing energy consumption, has announced it will provide up to $185,000 to Aki Energy to train First Nations members.

“(It’s) a step forward in reconciliation,” said Amy Tuck, Efficiency Manitoba’s lead of Indigenous and income-based programs.

The funding will help create long-term jobs for those in the program, who will be trained on ground source heat pump installation and maintenance, Tuck said.

Ground source heat pumps (or geothermal systems) move existing heat into and out of the ground via pipes, warming or cooling a building.

For years, some Manitoba First Nations, such as Peguis, have been steps ahead in creating more environmentally friendly homes, according to Jack Winram, executive director for the Manitoba Environmental Industries Association (MEIA).

“One of the best kept secrets in Manitoba is that communities like Peguis have invested substantially into renewables like geothermal,” Winram said. “But that requires operators and people to troubleshoot and understand those systems.

“That’s what this training is for.”

The MEIA is contributing $10,000 to Aki Energy’s training program, which currently has trainees from Peguis First Nation and Sioux Valley Dakota Nation.

Neither First Nation could be reached for comment by print deadline.

The training program, which has 15 students, began in March and ends in the winter.

Efficiency Manitoba projects the training will lead to the installation of 400 ground source heat pumps in First Nations communities over the next four years.

“When we’re looking at First Nations communities that are primarily being heated by electricity, this is going to take a real big dent out of their heating bill,” said Art Ladd, an energy efficiency specialist at Efficiency Manitoba.

A heat pump can reduce electric heating costs up to 60 per cent, according to the Crown corporation.

First Nations don’t pay for the pumps’ installation. Efficiency Manitoba partners with Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, which finds investors to cover the installation costs.

The Vancouver-based entity drummed up about $4.3 million in private investments for 124 ground source heat pumps in Peguis First Nation and Fisher River Cree Nation, according to Jeff Cyr, co-founder of Raven Indigenous Capital Partners.

Installation of those units began in 2019.

First Nations seek out support from Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, Efficiency Manitoba and Aki Energy to train residents and implement the heat pumps, Cyr said.

“It’s a stellar approach,” he said of Aki Energy’s training program. “It does things over and above a normal training program to ensure students are well taken care of.”

Helping students get their driver’s licences is one example, he noted.

“We basically want (First Nations) to hire the hard-to-employ people, and we work with them,” said Darcy Wood, Aki Energy’s CEO. “It’s really the individuals that want to work but don’t have the necessary skills to do it.”

The social enterprise first began training First Nations residents in 2013, starting with 15 workers from Peguis First Nation and another 15 from Fisher River, Wood said.

The workers dig trenches and lay roughly 2,000 feet of loop per house. Wood estimates Aki Energy has played a role in upwards of 500 ground source heat pumps on First Nations communities, including Fisher River, Peguis, Sagkeeng and Long Plain.

A seasoned crew can finish a job in two days — and the more houses finished, the more money for workers, Wood noted.

Pre-pandemic, a typical ground source heat pump installation in a First Nations community would cost just shy of $20,000, but it’s likely changed since then, Wood added.

“Everything has gone up,” he said.

He is in talks with more First Nations communities who want their residents trained. Each graduate undergoes weeks of classroom theory and installs three heat pumps under an instructor’s supervision.

Students receive social supports such as financial planning and family counselling through the training program. Their schooling, accommodations and food are covered.

Efficiency Manitoba is covering up to 50 per cent of this year’s program costs, up to $185,000. Manitoba Environmental Industries Association is injecting $10,000, and participating First Nations are paying the rest.

The cost per student won’t be finalized until training locations are confirmed, among other things, according to Wood and Efficiency Manitoba. Aki Energy’s training facility is in Selkirk.

The non-profit is looking to tackle other green heating systems.

“If we’re going to meet net zero targets by 2050, there’s going to be a need for all things alternative, renewable energy like geothermal,” said Winram from the MEIA.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com