Buildings Projects

In partnership with Qikiqtaaluk Properties Incorporated (QPI) and Qikiqtaaluk Business Development Corporation (QBDC), NNC performed a deep energy retrofit to the Nunavut Arctic College (NAC) residence building in Iqaluit, NU. This involved analyzing the whole building to understand how energy can be saved, and choosing construction processes that can make those savings possible in the existing building.

Key aspects of the project include:

• Triple-pane window upgrades
• Wall and roof insulation upgrades
• Hot water and ventilation heat recovery (all completed between 2020 and 2022)
• A 100kW rooftop solar array (installed in 2021 and commissioned in 2023).

The project targeted a 50% reduction in energy use and 45% energy cost savings.

NNC is developing the Iqaluit Inuit Owned Lands (IOL) Microgrid Demonstration Project at the Aqsarniit Hotel and Conference Centre in Iqaluit, NU. The project includes:

• A rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) array of 250 kilowatts (kW)
• A 250 kW (535 kWh) battery energy storage system (BESS)
• Two 400 kW diesel generators with combined heat pumps.

Once this system is complete, it will fulfill 100% of the electrical and heating loads of the hotel while reducing their diesel consumption by 15%.

The project has been under construction since 2023. As of fall 2025, all major equipment has been installed and the project is planned to be up and running by late 2026. The goal is to provide independent heat and power to the Aqsarniit Hotel and Conference Centre, lowering their operational costs and carbon footprint.

The Nauttiqsuqtiit Centre is a new multi-use facility in Arctic Bay, NU, owned and operated by Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA). In collaboration with Solvest Inc., NNC installed a 48 kW rooftop solar system (96 solar panels) on the building in the summer of 2025. This system will be commissioned in 2026.

Once up and running, the system will help reduce diesel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and generate revenue for QIA through QEC’s Commercial and Institutional Power Producer Program (CIPP). This project supports long-term sustainability goals, decreases electricity costs, and provides lasting benefits for Nunavummiut well into the future. This is NNC’s second CIPP rooftop solar project.