Initial marketing efforts will focus on the Pacific Southwest of the United States and the Canadian Province of Nova Scotia. Vast tracts of sun-filled desert land, owned by Native Americans in the Southwest are viewed as prime locations for solar energy developments.
Excellent relations have already been established with tribal groups in Arizona, Southern California and New Mexico. Initial undertakings in the Southwest will focus on development of solar energy farms.
In Canada, the initial focus will be on Nova Scotia, where the Provincial Government has unveiled its Renewable Electricity Plan providing for Community Based Feed-in Tariffs to encourage development of renewable energy projects by First Nations and local municipalities. The Province’s goal is to increase renewables by 25% by the year 2015.
There is a historic connection between the Mi’kmaq nations (of Nova Scotia, Quebec, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and the State of Maine) and the Basque Country of Spain, stretching back to the 16th century when Basque sailors worked shoulder to shoulder with the Mi’kmaq in cod fishing, whaling and on-land fish-processing.
The Membertou First nation, named after the Grand Chief Membertou (1510-1611) belongs to the greater tribal group of the Mi’kmaq Nation. Membertou is situated 3 kms from the heart of the city of Sydney, Nova Scotia, within its tribal district of Unama’ki (Cape Breton). It is one of five Mi’kmaq communities in Cape Breton, and one of thirteen in the Province of Nova Scotia.
In January 2002 Membertou became the first Aboriginal Government in the world to become ISO 9001 certified. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a worldwide federation of national standards bodies works to ensure consistency and quality in companies around the world. The ISO designation positions Membertou as a highly credible business player in the global economy.
Its new partner Guascor has a unique business philosophy – as proven by its work to provide energy to remote, rural and indigenous communities in Amazonia (the Amazon rain forest) and its mission to improve the lives of people. Guascor has 63 plants in the Amazon producing 200 MW of electricity and employing 500 people.
Guascor is one of the few renewable energy companies in the world that offer a complete package of renewable products and services. Their efforts developing renewable energies and protecting the environment, both nationally and internationally, have rewarded the group with recognition as a pioneer in the movement for sustainable development.
Guascor has more than 1.400 MW in Wind Farms and own/operate: 90 MW fuelled with natural gas, 10 MW Hydropower and 6 MW fuelled with landfill gas.
In the Pacific Southwest of the United States, the Joint Venture will market solar parks. Guascor is a leader in the development and construction of solar parks in some of the most important photovoltaic markets in the world including Spain and Italy, with 60 MW in total installations using both crystalline technology and its own HCPV systems.
In fact, Guascor-Foton is the first company in the world to manufacture and market industrial and large-scale HCPV installations and it has already installed more than 10 MW (or more than 50% of the total installed worldwide HCPV capacity), positioning Guascor-Foton as global leaders in High Concentration Photovoltaic systems.
The Membertou First Nation and GrupoGuascor intend to take advantage of Guascor’s unique experience and expertise on solar PV farms to market, develop and construct PV installations on Native American lands across the Pacific Southwest.
