We have the solutions to transition to 100% renewable energy, but HOW we transition is key.
The Platform of Action for Renewable Energy (PoA) coordinates Renewable Energy Success Stories through our project, ‘Sunshine Stories’ to promote the positive impact of renewables on lives and communities all over the world.
The stories are captured in audio, videos, quotes, papers etc. and will be accessible for people to learn from each other. They are also recorded and/or translated in diverse languages to increase their resonance with several target communities and audiences.
You can read our concept note here.
Would you like to submit your stories? Please fill out this form and reach out to the PoA Team on poa@climatenetwork.org for any inquiries.
Projects we want to spotlight:
Sunshine Story Webinar: Indigenous-Led Energy Transition Across Turtle Island, in collaboration with CAN – RAC Canada and Sacred Earth Solar
Sunshine Stories are a project facilitated by CAN International and its nodes and partners to demonstrate the impact renewables have on people’s lives and wider communities. To demonstrate further what we mean when we call for the just and equitable transition to 100% renewable energy.
On Tuesday the 28th of May, CAN International hosted its first Sunshine Story Webinar: Indigenous-Led Energy Transition Across Turtle Island, in collaboration with CAN – RAC Canada and Sacred Earth Solar. You can watch the full webinar on our YouTube Channel here [LNIK]
Sacred Earth Solar’s and the indigenous communities’ they have worked with stories’ demonstrate the importance of centring decolonisation work in the energy transition. They contextualise the personal experience, demonstrating the historic violence committed by both the state and corporations. The work Sacred Earth Solar does emphasises the importance of understanding the complexity of achieving a just and equitable transition.
In so called Canada, indigenous communities are the largest asset owners of clean energy after utilities. The energy transition in the region has been led by indigenous communities, through centring their voices we can better understand how they have achieved this, where they have struggled and where they have succeeded.
Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Founder & Executive Director of Sacred Earth Solar, spoke on the impact that logging, tar, and fossil fuel extraction has impacted where she is from, in addition to the violence and cultural erasure of mission schools and the mass graves uncovered alongside them. It is this colonial landscape against which the just and equitable transition is being fought for. The indigenous experience and the violence felt has been invisibilized, therefore acknowledging this ecological and cultural genocide is central to decolonising the energy transition.
These projects bring energy sovereignty, healing Justice, capacity building, land protection, and healing to their Nations and across the Country. Sacred Earth Solar is an indigenous woman led organisation that empowers and supports communities who are looking to implement climate solutions. As well as healing justice within their communities, their lands and environments, Sacred Earth Solar is now working on its eighth project alongside community members and have four different program streams they focus on.
You can explore this in more depth on their Just Transition Guide [LINK]
Sacred Earth Solar’s holistic approach centres healing justice and forefronting community involvement in each project, ensuring real sustainability and longevity to the projects. Going far beyond lowering emissions but building healthy communities, with access to their culture and ceremony. Their intersectional approach is unique and ensures communities are the ones leading the projects.
Case study – Sour Springs Longhouse
The community of Six Nations of the Grand River, the largest first nation in so-called Canada, currently hold the largest clean energy portfolio (1,000 megawatts of power and 18 solar and wind assets). For the Haudenosaunee people, the longhouse is central to their community, it is where they conduct their ceremony, governance, harvest, and where they are buried.
The project focuses on the oldest longhouse on the Grand River; its restoration includes the installation of a PV hybrid system, enabling the community to overcome frequent blackouts, consistent clean energy through installation of batteries. Incorporating energy efficiency into the project through an energy audit of the building and looking into installing a heat pump and large scale air sealing. A heat recovery ventilator system will allow it to be a comfortable place for people to gather. To facilitate long-term food security and maintaining ceremonial tradition, seed storage is also being considered in the retrofit project.
Serena Mendizabal, the Just Transition Manager at Sacred Earth Solar, Cayuga Nation member of Sour Springs Longhouse said, ‘I really like this project, it’s a love letter to my community and to my longhouse, wanting to make sure that we can sustain ourselves as Haudenosaunee and wanting to be able to provide accessible resources and accessible opportunities for those within hereditary governance… Sacred Earth Solar and this longhouse project brings together unique technical capacity on the nitty-gritty of the shift to renewables and energy efficiency. As well as nurturing the people, indigenous culture, and governance, all integral as part of climate justice’
The Longhouse project governance is completely led by the hereditary system, Chiefs and Clan mothers and faithkeepers. The community is taking the lead but Sacred Earth Solar’s focus on community education sessions and resources facilitates this.
Case study – Solarisation of the Art Studio at Nimkii Aazhibikong
The art studio serves as a centre for language revitalisation, intergenerational transmission of knowledge, and communal space for Anishinaabek and surrounding Indigenous communities to gather and practice art and learn cultural teachings.
Isaac Murdoch from Nimkii Aazhibikong said, ‘We have to hear part of the story, the destruction and degradation of the land is directly related to our abuse. Even though many survived, many were sick from uranium poisoning in the water. Instead of fighting against something we decided to build what we want to take back crown land, and we were met with resistance by the police and the government. We kept telling them that what they were doing was illegal, and pushing white supremacy, after a while we were able to get this land here, put together a village, to get our language, our customs, regain our culture, our language, and our pride as who we are as people. This was compromised by our government. Even though I’m sick from the mine, I’m getting healed.
Melina, helped to provide solar access on the camp, made us proud of what we were able to achieve. We have since been able to build more houses and expand the solar stations to enable more indigenous people onto the land. The solar transformed our ability to rebuild our community, the earth is a gift and a transfer of power. The sun beats on the earth and it creates an amazing balance of temperature and pressure – there are great cycles of power that are being generated. We need to use what the creator gave us.’
We also heard from Audrey Huntley, Co-Founder of No More Silence on the work their organisation has done to help draw attention to the violence committed against indigenous people, supporting families who have lost loved ones. Sacred Earth Solar worked with No more Silence to build a sweat lodge and facilities for ceremonies powered by solar energy.
You can read more about this project and the other work Sacred Earth Solar has carried out on their website. [LINK]
You can watch our webinar in full on our website [LINK]