TRUE NORTH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FORUM 2026
It was a full house on January 20 as the Prince George Chamber of Commerce hosted the 2026 True North Economic Development Forum. The Nilhts’i Ecoener Wind Project was a co-sponsor along with its project partner Tano T’enneh Enterprises which is the business and economic development arm of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation (LTFN).
Jose E. Auffray, Ecoener Managing Director for Canada and Nilhts’i Ecoener Wind Project Manager Dan Visser shared a presentation about the wind project to be built near Hixon, BC. This was followed by a question-answer session moderated by Nilhts’i Ecoener Wind Project Communications Advisor Kevin Brown. The audience of regional government, business leaders and other officials was very engaged as they learned about the investment in the area and how wind power will start contributing to another key sector in the area.
Jose began by stating that Ecoener is a Spanish multinational, 100% renewable energy company that started 37 years ago and is still managed by founder and Chairman Luis de Valdivia. Ecoener has wind, solar and run-of-river projects in 12 countries and sees Canada as a wealthy stable country in which to expand. B.C. is privileged from the point of view of electricity. It has one of the greenest generation with more than 97% of the electricity supplied by renewable technologies, coupled with one of the lowest prices of energy for the final consumers. Both factors are key to the competitiveness of the B.C. economy and should foster the future growth of the industries.
Map of Ecoener global project locations
Explaining the path to establish the partnership with Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, Ecoener contacted the band in response to BC Hydro’s 2024 Call for Power. The two parties agreed to explore a project and build trust. The Nilhts’i Ecoener Wind Project was one of the successful projects in the 2024 Call for Power and the relationship between LTFN and Ecoener has been growing stronger since the announcement.
Jose E. Auffray giving a presentation on the Nilhts’i Ecoener Project.
Jose told the audience that the Nilhts’i Ecoener project represents a $425 million investment backed by a 30-year electricity purchase agreement with BC Hydro. The Project Team is responsible for day-to-day work and reports to a Board of Directors composed of two LTFN representatives and two from Ecoener. Jose said Ecoener has defined BC and Canada as top strategic priority for the future of Ecoener and will pursue additional renewable energy projects in the country as opportunities arise.
Dan added that the Nilhts’i Ecoener project will generate 140 MW of power which is enough to power 31,000 homes. It will be built on a hill 15 km east of Hixon using existing forest roads and will include approximately 20 turbines. Each is about 120 m tall with a red light on top to aid in airplane navigation. Each turbine will have three blades measuring 75 m in length.
Post Presentation Questions and Answers Session - Left to Right: Kevin Brown, Jose E. Auffray, Dan Visser
Dan stated that the focus of the project in 2026 was to submit regulatory approvals based on the previous year of detailed site data collection. He said more data will be collected this year to help the project team develop the next stage of project design. The project team will also continue this year to share project information with local First Nations and communities.
The audience was excited to learn that Prince George is well suited to grow into a regional hub for the renewable energy sector in BC. The BC Government has stated that demand for electricity will continue to grow and that BC Hydro is looking for renewable energy to meet the demand.
