REGINA – Recent comments from Premier Brad Wall and the top boss at SaskPower point to new plans for renewable energy in the province.
Wall said on November 3 the Crown would make “some very interesting announcements,” while SaskPower CEO Mike Marsh told reporters on November 9 it would be “pushing the envelope on wind.”
In addition, Marsh said recent natural gas additions are helping blow the winds of change.
“It’s allowing us an opportunity to layer in more wind at an economical rate, so that’s the strategy we’ve been working on.”
Both hinted the public will know more within weeks. So what could these wind power plans be?
“It can be done very rapidly if there’s the political will to do it.” – Sask. Community Wind
Saskatchewan residents know how windy this province is, but how much electricity we’re generating from it still languishes below three per cent – even with SaskPower’s targets to multiply that number over the next 15 years.
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“If we’re aiming for 12 per cent by 2030, that’s not overly ambitious,” said James Glennie, president of Saskatchewan Community Wind.
Glennie points to nearby states with similar weather patterns and those pesky winter climates.
While Saskatchewan’s wind power generation in 2014 was in the low single digits, North Dakota topped 17 per cent and South Dakota was among the highest in North America at 25 per cent.
“We only have to look at other jurisdictions to see how possible it is,” Glennie said. “It’s encouraging the government is now talking about this, but again, we’re waiting for something concrete.”
“It can be done very rapidly if there’s the political will to do it.”
Timing worth noting
Only in recent weeks the public learned the $1.5-billion carbon capture and storage facility at the Boundary Dam power plant near Estevan has been plagued by poor performance.
In addition, Wall heads to France for a climate change summit with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other world leaders in early December.
READ MORE: Decision delayed on next phases of Boundary Dam carbon capture
The government insists, however, this is no SaskPower sales pitch.
“They’ve been planning for some period of time around this,” said Bill Boyd, the minister responsible for SaskPower, on November 10. “I don’t think it’s specifically, in any way, shape or form, to do with Paris. Just, generally, in terms of the overall mix of generation sources.”
Boyd again promised the government would be “making some thoughts known on that very soon.”
The details of any renewable energy plans are still under tight wraps, but an announcement is expected before that overseas trip, while most signs point to SaskPower working off the targets laid out this past spring.
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