Wind farms can provide important benefits for Indigenous partners, but require meaningful consultation to ensure community benefits and avoid the energy sector’s past exploitative conduct, says a new report.

Amid a surge in Indigenous-led wind development in New Brunswick, spurred in part by a 2024 federal commitment of up to $1 billion for new capacity, it is “crucial that these projects are planned with utmost consideration for the history of energy project exploitation and pollution of Indigenous lands and offer substantive and crucial benefits to the communities that own or are partnered on these projects,” say the authors of Indigenous-Partnered Wind Energy in Wabanaki Homeland.

The report was co-published by the Passamaquoddy Recognition Group Inc. and the Contesting Energy Discourses through Action Research (CEDAR) research project at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

In his foreword, Chief Hugh Akagi of the Peskotomuhkati Nation at Skutik, describes the report as “not a simple endorsement of wind energy but rather a critical look at how these projects can be truly beneficial.” Wind energy development needs to be approached with care and respect if it is to be environmentally and socially feasible, he adds.

The report notes that Indigenous nations are partners in more than 170 renewable energy projects across Canada, including 32 wind projects in Wabanaki territory—which spans Atlantic Canada and parts of Quebec—as of July 2025. The analysis focuses on those wind projects.

The authors contrast Indigenous support for wind projects in the region against demonstrated Indigenous opposition to nuclear projects in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario.

First Nations partnership in energy projects is becoming more common, but it follows a history of exploitation of Indigenous Peoples by Canada’s energy industry, the authors write. Much of that exploitation was done at the hands of the fossil fuel sector, which many Indigenous peoples have a strong track record of protesting and opposing.

While renewable energy projects like wind and solar have qualities that make them less likely to be exploitive—including their decentralization that makes them more accessible for community involvement, and their relatively lower environmental footprint from mining—they can still do damage if they’re not carried out properly.

“Many renewable energy projects on Indigenous lands have provided minimal benefits to the communities themselves, often perpetuating a pattern of exploitation similar to the fossil fuel era,” says the report.

Early and robust engagement with Indigenous communities is therefore important to deliver the most benefits possible for Indigenous partners in wind energy projects. Industry interviewees have said tight deadlines for provincial procurement and federal funding make it difficult to carry out consultations, and the report argues that governments or agencies providing project funding are partially responsible for creating “space and time to allow for Indigenous communities and teams to digest the project, assess the associated risks and benefits, and develop meaningful partnerships.”

Yet some of the imbalanced dynamics of past energy projects have carried over into new wind development, and the job creation that new projects offer doesn’t always provide balanced benefits for communities. This is in part because Indigenous partners are not typically involved in operations and management, the analysis shows, so they are often left with little or no steady work after a project’s completion. In some cases this dynamic is entrenched when maintenance and repairs are required to be performed by the manufacturer.

The materials for wind and solar projects also rely on mining, which comes with its own environmental footprint—the report states there is no “net-zero” solution for the transition away from fossil fuels, though some energy technologies have worse impacts than others.

Despite these historical and ongoing issues, wind energy projects can still deliver important benefits for Indigenous partners, while also being “substantially less environmentally degrading than fossil fuel infrastructure,” the report says. Partnerships in wind projects can provide communities with direct revenue while supporting their ability to maintain and advance values like energy sovereignty, environmental protection, and education. Most projects don’t provide long-term employment for Indigenous community members, but the revenue stream allows communities to hire staff for peripheral roles, or even responsibilities unrelated to the project.

The report comes at a moment of intense activity in wind energy development across Wabanaki homeland.

“I was heartened to learn from this study that Indigenous nations are leading renewable energy developments across Canada,” writes Akagi. “We recognize the potential in harnessing renewable energy to create not only electricity generation but also revenue for our communities.”

The report also flags a visibility problem: many wind farms do not include the Indigenous partner’s name on signage at the project site, meaning the general public would often have no idea the projects have Indigenous partners.