The NIRB registry added a document titled “Proponent Response to Comments” for file 26UN010 on Sept. 18. The response follows comments filed Sept. 3 by the Government of Nunavut, the Government of Canada and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association. NIRB’s public comment period had already ended Sept. 3, and the registry now records the response stage as part of the active screening process. ᓇᑭᓐᖔᖅᓯᒪᓂᖏᑦ↗

The proposal could eventually change how Iqaluit gets electricity. Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation proposes a hydroelectric facility in the Kuugaluk River system on Hall Peninsula, with up to 30 megawatts of capacity, a reservoir, roads and a transmission line to Iqaluit. But the registry says the project’s exact size, location and design are still being finalized. ᓇᑭᓐᖔᖅᓯᒪᓂᖏᑦ↗

NIRB has not posted a screening decision. The Board can now consider the project record, including the comments and the proponent’s response, before deciding the screening outcome or seeking more information. A screening decision would still not itself replace the other permits, licences and approvals needed before construction. ᓇᑭᓐᖔᖅᓯᒪᓂᖏᑦ↗

Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation is listed as the applicant. The project is described in the registry as an Inuit-led, 100 per cent Inuit-owned clean-energy proposal intended to reduce Iqaluit’s imported diesel use. The current filing does not announce funding, a final design, a construction start date or permission to build. ᓇᑭᓐᖔᖅᓯᒪᓂᖏᑦ↗