Call for power: Indigenous majority-owned wind

Project overview

We are continuing with our procurement process for Indigenous majority-owned wind projects.

Enlarge image: Two large wind towers in the middle of a Manitoba canola field.

As part of The Manitoba Affordable Energy Plan, we have begun a procurement process for Indigenous majority-owned wind projects that will help us meet the increasing needs of Manitobans. Our 2023 Integrated Resource Plan highlights an urgent need for new generation in the province, as demand in Manitoba could more than double in the next 20 years. These new wind generating resources will increase our supply of energy, support economic development, and further the efforts outlined in our Indigenous Relations Commitment Statement.

We are planning to procure the output from up to 600 megawatts of new wind power in southern Manitoba through power purchase agreements and as part of this initiative, each individual wind farm could generate up to 200 megawatts.

We issued our initial Request for Qualified Suppliers (RFQS) on MERX on October 8, 2025, and intend to issue our first Request for Proposals (RFP-1) in March 2026 to our list of qualified suppliers. We aim to provide onboarding opportunities to qualify new suppliers at least annually and anticipate issuing multiple rounds of RFPs.

Each new wind farm must be majority owned by an Indigenous Nation (or multiple Nations) in Manitoba, and we will purchase the output from each facility.

To be eligible, a wind farm will need to connect to our grid by establishing a point of interconnection within a 20km radius to one of the 14 existing substations identified on the map below.

There are 14 possible substations that wind farms can establish a point of interconnection to.

Enlarge image: A zoomed-in map of Manitoba highlighting 14 possible locations for connecting wind power to the Manitoba Hydro electrical grid, as per a Notice of Intended Procurement for the wind call for power on MERX. South of Winnipeg the locations are De Salaberry East and Letellier. West of Winnipeg the locations are Wash’ake Mayzoon, St. Leon, Glenboro South, Souris Enbridge, Neepawa, Raven Lake, Birtle South, Virden West, and Reston. North of Winnipeg the locations are Silver and Ashern.

Timeline

These dates are subject to change:

notice of intended procurement: February 17, 2025
wind symposium: March 19, 2025
expression of interest (EOI) issued on MERX: June 13, 2025
EOI closed: July 11, 2025
request for qualified suppliers (RFQS) issued on MERX¹: Oct 8, 2025
RFQS closes: January 23, 2026
qualified RFQS proponents selected: March 2026
RFP-1 issued to qualified RFQS proponents: March 2026
RFP-1 closes: Summer 2026

Details of this notice are available on MERX. ↩︎

Stay updated on this project

All procurement updates, documents and project activities will be posted on MERX to be consistent with our procurement practices.

This page is updated regularly and provides a summary of the Call for Power: Indigenous Majority-Owned Wind procurement, however the most current and complete information can be found on MERX. Should there be any discrepancies between the information here and the information posted on MERX, the information posted on MERX shall prevail.

Independent power process

Independent power proposals that are outside the scope of this Wind Call for Power procurement may be submitted at independentpower@hydro.mb.ca. We’re only accepting independent power proposals capable of generating ten megawatts or less, except for those participating in the Wind Call for Power procurement.

What you wanted to know

We have taken your feedback and compiled additional information on the following topics.

Details and/or timelines about the Expression of Interest process

We released an Expression of Interest (EOI) on June 13, 2025.

It was not mandatory to respond to the EOI.

Access to project information on MERX will be available regardless of your participation in the EOI.

Power Purchase Agreement process

The proposed form of power purchase agreement will be available with the RFQS through MERX in the coming months.

Interconnection requests and the resource solicitation process

The resource solicitation process begins when all proposals have been submitted to us in response to any RFP. We, acting as the Solicitor, will submit all interconnection requests simultaneously to transmission services to conduct a resource solicitation study.

The resource solicitation study will be conducted using the interconnection request information provided in the proponent’s proposal.

Individual proponents are not expected to interact directly with transmission services unless and until we inform transmission services that those proponents have been selected as a successful proponent. Successful proponents will then move to the interconnection facilities study phase under our Open Access Interconnection Tariff.

Proponents who have submitted interconnection requests for wind prior to an RFP will need to suspend such requests to participate in the resource solicitation study. No advantage or priority in any RFP will be afforded to any entity directly submitting an interconnection request prior to such RFP.

Details on interconnection requests and the resource solicitation process are included in our Open Access Interconnection Tariff (OAIT) (PDF, 1.5 MB).

Exploratory study results for interconnection customers

We have published exploratory study results to provide prospective interconnection customers with a rough approximation of the costs associated with the interconnection of a facility and delivery of energy from a facility to Manitoba load based on a range of facility sizes and locations throughout the Province of Manitoba.

Read the final exploratory study results (PDF, 998 KB).

Allowable sizes for a single wind generation facility

A Generator’s Plant must be no smaller than 90 MW and no larger than 200 MW in nameplate capacity.

Environmental Assessment and Licensing Process

Successful wind generation projects will be subject to the Province of Manitoba’s environmental assessment and licensing process under The Environment Act.  Read more about this process on the provincial government’s website.

The Manitoba Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program

The Manitoba Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program (MILGP) is administered by the Province of Manitoba. Interested applicants can visit https://www.manitoba.ca/milgp or email MILGP@gov.mb.ca.

Equity Ownership Clarifying Details

To qualify for the RFQS, a submission by a single eligible entity can include multiple Indigenous Nations.

An Indigenous Nation can intend to hold Equity Ownership in more than one qualified supplier.

Interconnection Clarifying Details

Any proposed generator’s plant’s Point of Interconnection (POI) must connect directly to one of the 14 existing Manitoba Hydro substations identified in the RFQS Appendix B: Eligible Substations for Interconnection. Connecting to other locations along the existing transmission line (i.e. “tapping”) is not an available option for any anticipated RFP.

View a single-line diagram configuration of a typical wind power plant that interconnects with our transmission system (PDF, 150 KB).

In accordance with our Open Access Interconnection Tariff (OAIT), we are responsible for the design, licensing, and construction of the transmission owner interconnection facilities and interconnection system upgrades, required for the interconnection request.

We will own any new interconnection transmission lines that interconnect from our substation to the POI.

Pursuant to our open access interconnection tariff (OAIT), any costs related to interconnection system upgrades (ISU) and transmission owner interconnection facilities (TOIF) will be the responsibility of the interconnection customer. We will reimburse the generator for applicable costs associated with interconnection system upgrades (ISU) subject to the terms of the PPA up to an established maximum, if applicable.

The OAIT determines if and when ISU costs are applicable. Refer to OAIT 7.1.12 for explanations regarding how applicable ISU costs are allocated.

Notice of Planned Changes to MH Facility Interconnection Requirements

Manitoba Hydro has posted Notice of Planned Changes to MH Facility Interconnection Requirements which includes Planned Changes to Generator Facility Technical Interconnection Requirements and Planned Changes to Model Submission Requirements for Inverter-Based Resources.