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Fort Severn Solar Microgrid

Current status, energy mix, organizations, suppliers, equipment, controls, reported specifications, and project updates—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations8
System facts19
Sources reviewed12
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

Fort Severn First Nation's community-owned solar hybrid in Ontario's far north was completed in 2021. Current Canadian and Ontario sources consistently describe approximately 300 kW of solar integrated with the Hydro One Remote Communities diesel grid, while a federal project description identifies the planned resource breakdown as 240 kW ground-mount PV, 10 kW rooftop PV, 10 kW wind, battery storage, and a microgrid-control computer. The often-repeated 400,000 litres per year figure is an expected diesel reduction, not a published measured result.

Research status
Completed and operational since 2021 according to the Canada Energy Regulator and Ontario's current remote-community project inventory. Fort Severn First Nation owns the project and Hydro One Remote Communities operates the local diesel grid. A federal contribution record was administratively extended through December 31, 2028, but that grant end date does not overturn the cited 2021 completion date. No post-commissioning measured generation, battery performance, availability, or realized fuel reduction through July 2026 was located.
Historical classification
Community
Reported capacity
1,250 kW
Coordinates
55.98709, -87.63877
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.
Report missing evidenceResearch methodology

Project delivery

Who was involved in Fort Severn Solar Microgrid?

8 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

Canadian Solar

Developer associated with an earlier 2016 design phase that commissioned Trimark to design SCADA communications; reviewed evidence does not establish that the exact 2016 equipment schedule became the 2021 as-built system. [5]

Organization

Fort Severn First Nation

Community project owner and financial contributor; community members also received training for project participation and operation. [8][6][10]

Organization

Government of Canada

Clean-energy funder and reporting authority [3]

Organization

Government of Ontario

Remote First Nation renewable-energy funder [4]

Organization

Hedgehog Technologies

Project manager and engineering/logistics consultant for the completed solar hybrid. [8][6][7]

Organization

Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.

Operator of the remote diesel electricity system into which the community-owned renewable project was integrated. [9][10]

Organization

Independent Electricity System Operator

Ontario project partner identified in the province's remote First Nation renewable-energy inventory. [9]

Organization

Natural Resources Canada

Provided $865,817 through the Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program and continues to publish the funded-project scope. [6][11][12]

System evidence

Energy mix, capacity, and specifications

Values can describe different project phases, generation sources, storage systems, or other components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

KW Solar
300 [1]
Storage
300 KW [1]
Solar PV
300 kW [3]
Estimated diesel displacement
Approximately 20%, or 400,000 litres per year [3]
Archived storage rating
300 kW as published; energy capacity and supplier were not stated [1]
Completed solar capacity
Approximately 300 kW in current federal, provincial, and regulator summaries. NRCan's announcement says '290-kilovolt,' an apparent unit transcription error; a later NRCan record says 290 kW solar plus 10 kW wind. [8][6][9][12]
Funded resource breakdown
240 kW ground-mounted solar, 10 kW rooftop solar, 10 kW wind, battery storage, and a microgrid-control computer in NRCan's current project description; the public page does not disclose battery power or energy capacity [10][12]
Forecast diesel displacement
Up to 400,000 litres per year, or about 20% of community diesel use, stated as an expectation rather than a measured post-commissioning result [8][6][9]
Project cost and federal contribution
Nearly C$2.6 million total, including C$865,817 from Natural Resources Canada plus contributions from Fort Severn First Nation, Ontario, and Hedgehog Technologies [6][11]
Earlier 2016 design, not verified as-built
257 kW new ground-mount PV, 410 kWh battery, 80 kW existing rooftop PV, 10 kW wind, and integration with a 2 MW three-tier diesel plant were described when Trimark received a SCADA design contract. The later public completion summaries do not reconcile these figures. [5]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Solar photovoltaic generation

Model not publicly disclosed

Current project evidence identifies ground-mounted and rooftop PV totaling approximately 250 kW in the funded component breakdown, while program-level completed-capacity summaries round the hybrid's solar capacity to 290-300 kW. Module and inverter vendors and models are not publicly identified in the sources reviewed. [10][8][12]

02

Wind generation

Model not publicly disclosed

A 10 kW wind turbine is included in current NRCan project descriptions; manufacturer and model are not disclosed. [10][12]

03

Battery energy storage

Model not publicly disclosed

NRCan confirms that battery storage is part of the hybrid, but no reviewed completion source provides an as-built kW or kWh rating, chemistry, supplier, or model. The recovered 300 kW storage figure is therefore unsupported; 410 kWh belongs only to the earlier 2016 design description. [10][5]

04

Microgrid controls

Model not publicly disclosed

The funded project includes a control computer that coordinates renewable generation, storage, and the remote diesel system. Trimark was contracted for SCADA communications in an earlier phase, but the reviewed sources do not prove that Trimark hardware is in the final installation. [10][5]

Technical record

Architecture, performance, and project updates

Concise technical facts, milestones, operating results, and later developments. Dated notes distinguish historical design claims from current evidence.

  • Grid relationship

    The system is a community-owned renewable hybrid connected to Hydro One Remote Communities' isolated diesel grid, not a grid-tied export project connected to Ontario's bulk power system. [9][10]

  • Completion versus grant administration

    The CER and Ontario say the project was completed in 2021. Canada's public grant record shows the funding agreement, originally beginning in July 2019, amended through December 2028. That extension may cover administration, monitoring, or follow-on obligations and is not evidence that construction remains incomplete. [8][9][11]

  • Design evolution

    The 2016 Canadian Solar/Trimark description and the later NRCan project schedule differ materially in PV and battery ratings. They are retained as dated design phases; the 410 kWh battery and 337 kW combined old-plus-new PV should not be silently assigned to the completed 2021 system. [5][10]

  • Community capacity building

    Federal and engineering accounts say the project included local skills development and training so community members could participate in construction and ongoing operation. [10][7][12]

  • Evidence boundary

    The widely cited 20% and 400,000-litre figures are forecasts. No public measured annual renewable energy, actual diesel or emissions reduction, battery dispatch data, outage performance, or post-2021 availability was located through July 2026. [8][6][9]

Provenance

12 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2021-04-20

  2. [2]
    Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org · Archived source · captured 2021-04-20

  3. [3]
  4. [4]
  5. [5]
  6. [6]
  7. [7]
    Hedgehog Technologies wins a Canadian Consulting Engineer Award of Excellence

    Hedgehog Technologies / Canada Newswire · Primary source

  8. [8]
  9. [9]
  10. [10]
  11. [11]
    Grant REP-PP-008: Fort Severn solar project

    Government of Canada Open Government Portal · Primary source

  12. [12]
    Natural Resources Canada response for the Ring of Fire Regional Assessment

    Natural Resources Canada / Impact Assessment Agency of Canada Registry · Primary source

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