REGINA – The province has unveiled more details about how SaskPower will reduce greenhouse gases through an increased push towards renewable electricity.
The goal is to have up to 50 per cent renewable power capacity in the next 15 years.
That wording has the opposition worried, saying it shapes the target as a cap opposed to a target.
“Certainly our position is that there has to be a minimum of 50 per cent renewables as a starting point or target going forward to 2030,” said environment critic Cathy Sproule.
The energy minister responded cautiously in light of recent carbon capture and storage facility issues. “Being firm in some of these areas is a little difficult to achieve at times,” said Bill Boyd.
Either way, it means Saskatchewan needs to diversify its energy portfolio and the Sask Party wants to start with more wind farms.
“Wind power has become much more economic as technology has developed. We’ve been able to understand how wind operates on our grid, here in Saskatchewan,” explained SaskPower CEO Mike Marsh.
Currently, with about 2,200 megawatt capacity, wind powers as many as 100,000 homes in our province when all the turbines are moving.
“Private sector power producers already have projects in various stages of development in Chaplin, Grenfell and Riverhurst. Those projects are expected to be complete by 2020,” Marsh said.
Those wind farms will help, but they’re only part of the picture. The province was wind to account for 30 of the 50 per cent of renewable electricity 15 years from now.
Our province is especially windy.
“There is a very strong wind belt that stretches from the Texas gulf coast right through to Saskatoon,” explained SaskWind founder James Glennie.
“Wind energy, at the moment, is significantly cheaper than solar power. But the general consensus in the market is that is changing and in due course solar will be become competitive with wind,” he said. “What we need is a good balanced power generation portfolio.”
That’s why the remainder will come from hydro, geothermal, biomass and solar power.
Part of the cost will fall back on rate payers – to the tune of around a dollar per month, per year.
The overall investment is expected to be around 1.5 billion dollars.