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Left to Right: Riel Houle, Piikani Councillor; Peter Doyle, Montem CEO; The Honourable Whitney Issik, Alberta Minister of Environment and Parks; Chief Stan Grier, Piikani Nation; The Honourable Rick Wilson, Alberta Minister Indigenous Relations; Avril Grier, celebrating at the annual Blackfoot Confederacy Calgary Stampede BBQ. (CNW Group/Montem Resources)

Montem & Piikani Nation enter agreement on renewable energy project

Jul 27, 2022 | 9:46 AM

PIIKANI NATION, AB – An energy company has partnered with a local First Nation as work progresses on a proposed renewable energy complex.

Montem Resources and the Piikani Nation have entered into a framework agreement, which both sides say will build a long-term cooperative and mutually-beneficial relationship.

The company is planning to build the Tent Mountain Renewable Energy Complex (TM-REX) in an area approximately 51 km southwest of Blairmore that falls under the traditional territory of the Piikani people.

The agreement was finalized at the annual Blackfoot Confederacy Calgary Stampede BBQ with officials from Montem, the Piikani Nation, and the provincial government present.

CEO of Montem, Peter Doyle, says the signing of this agreement represents a major milestone.

“We are excited by the opportunity to develop a meaningful partnership with the Nation that will deliver mutual benefits,” says Doyle. “Piikani will add value to our developments within the Piikani Traditional Territory. For Montem, it represents our first significant agreement with an Indigenous group, and we couldn’t be more pleased than to have an agreement with the Piikani Nation.”

Montem looks to convert the historical Tent Mountain Coal Mine into one that generates a few different types of clean, renewable energy.

TM-REX will include a 320-megawatt pumped hydro energy storage facility, a 100-megawatt green hydrogen electrolyzer, and a 100-megawatt offsite wind farm.

In a separate announcement earlier this year, Doyle referred to TM-REX as a “paradigm shift for green energy in Alberta.”

READ MORE: MOU signed to convert coal mine in Crowsnest Pass to renewable energy complex