design and another handle the construction. Solves, however, takes care of the entire process under one roof. Danny cites their Old Crow project as an example of what that integration is capable of: “That’s an extremely remote community in northern Canada. It’s only fly-in. It’s predominantly First Nations,” he explains. “Since the 1960s, when power was brought in, they’ve had to rely on diesel generators. For the last 60 years there’s always been this hum from these diesel generators. We were able to come in, and – with a lot of support from Vuntut Gwitchin, the utility, and other stakeholders – we were able to design and develop a system that was able to shut off those generators and just use battery and PV solar for extended periods of time.” “It was almost an emotional experience when those diesel generators shut off and there was still power in the community for the first time in 60 years,” he adds. “People could hear birds again, not just the steady hum of generators.” Danny also believes that remote communities – and all of their clients, for that matter, in all industry sectors – also appreciate Solvest’s locality: “We’re based in the north,” he says. “We’re not a southern company that comes up to do projects. We live and breathe here. We hire northerners. We bring a specialized knowledge and skillset that we’ve developed in-house. Our designs and projects are adapted to northern climates and weather conditions.” “Andwe’re not going anywhere,” he adds. “We want to make sure that everything we do works, because we’re the ones that are going to be maintaining it for decades to come.” NOVEMBER 2022
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