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MILLBROOK – The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) is providing $54 million in equity loans to the Wasoqonatl intertie, bringing its total investment to $285 million.

According to a release, through its Indigenous Equity Initiative (IEI), the CIB will provide:

• $36 million to Wskijinu’k Mtmo’taqnuow Agency Limited (WMA), enabling Nova Scotia’s 13 Mi’kmaw First Nations to acquire an equity stake in the project; and
• $18 million to MUIN Transmission Limited Partnership, supporting New Brunswick Mi’gmaq First Nations in securing their first ownership stake in a large-scale clean power project.

The Nova Scotia Energy Board had previously approved the , with construction scheduled for completion in 2028. It includes a 160-kilometre, 345-kV transmission line running parallel to the existing Onslow, N.S. to Salisbury, N.B. connection.

Project ownership will be through a regulated utility corporation with Nova Scotia Power Inc., the CIB, MUIN Transmission Limited Partnership and WMA as limited partners.  

°µÍø½ûÇøion of the transmission line is expected to support approximately 587 jobs and generate $105 million in GDP, the release reads.

Natural Resources Canada committed $4.38 million for pre-development activities related to the project through its Electricity Predevelopment Program, along with $20.1 million under the Strategic Interties Predevelopment Program, including $9.5 million to Nova Scotia Power. In addition, NRCan provided $220,210 to WMA through the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program.

To date, the CIB has committed nearly $2.2 billion to 12 projects in Atlantic Canada, including wind farms, energy storage, a paper mill energy upgrade, broadband expansions and this first-ever equity investment in a transmission line.