The Arctic region faces many challenges: effects of climate change, import dependency, geopolitical uncertainty, and communities’ ability to deliver economic development and social services. All these aspects have the common challenge that they require reliable and secure renewable energy systems, competence to develop and maintain these, and the investment to ensure the systems’ viability in the long term. These priorities are shared by both Canada and the Nordic countries.
Although the Canadian-Nordic areas of the Arctic have different governmental structures and differences in geography and histories, these northernmost communities often face similar challenges.
There is a mutual interest between Polar Knowledge Canada and Nordic Energy Research in achieving an overview of planned and undertaken community-scale renewable energy projects in the Arctic region, specifically in the Nordics and Canada.
With the aim of furthering the cooperation, they have agreed to jointly fund this project.
Objective
- To create an overview of community-level renewable energy projects, in development or implemented, in the Arctic and remote regions of Canada and the Nordic countries.
- To create a shortlist of best practices case studies with approximately 10 cases, documenting selected community-level renewable energy projects across technical, social, and economic dimensions – including discussions on approaches used in the projects.
- Include perspectives on Indigenous/First People’s involvement/ownership as well as public support aspects of the projects.
- To include projects in the Arctic region of the Nordic countries and Canada.
Activities and tasks
The consultant is expected to lead a project that includes the following activities and deliverables:
- A report of relevant community-scale renewable energy projects as well as existing studies on this topic in the Arctic region, including:
- A situational analysis of the Nordic-Canadian energy landscape in the Arctic, on community-level renewable energy projects, in terms of geopolitical, environmental, and economical dimensions, including future opportunities, such as planned investments in energy projects and infrastructure.
- A literature review consisting of an analysis of existing work on mapping of relevant community-scale renewable energy projects in the Canadian-Nordic Arctic.
- A minimum of 10 case studies, divided between Nordic and Canadian communities.
- To ensure stakeholder participation and review in relation to point 1, the consultant is expected to organise a roundtable event building on the report in the week of the Arctic Circle Assembly in Iceland, October 2026. This includes the following deliverables:
- An early findings documentation package for participants.
- A list of key individuals relevant for participating in the roundtable.
- Organising and executing the roundtable and providing a summary of the roundtable.
- Contributing to an open side event during the Arctic Circle Assembly, which aims at summarising preliminary findings and roundtable discussions, as well as allowing for further input from a wider audience.
- Finalising a publication, building on point 1 and 2, to be digitally published on Nordpub and on the platform of the Government of Canada
Deadlines
For submitting questions: 14 May at 13:00 CEST
For submission: 28 May at 13:00 CEST
Format and submission of the tender
Tenders must be delivered through the Mercell-portal. Suppliers are encouraged to familiarise themselves with Mercell’s systems well in advance of competition deadlines. Should you experience any technical issues with Mercell, please contact MTB Contact us – Norwegian – Mercell Support Live.