Residential solar panels have been a means to get off the grid for some time in Saskatchewan and now SaskPower is looking to amp up its own solar offerings.
The Crown corporation announced Thursday that it is hoping to produce 60 megawatts of power through utility scale solar projects.
This is enough power to provide electricity to roughly 10,000-12,000 homes.
SaskPower plans to have the first 10 megawatt utility project on up and running in 2018.
“I think to my knowledge it might be the first in western Canada,” Guy Bruce, the SaskPower planning, environment & sustainable development vice president, said.
The plan will act as a test to see how well solar power integrates in the SaskPower grid before future projects are considered.
One of the first steps in getting the projects of the ground will be procuring industry partners to work with.
“So the first phase of that is a request for qualification. So basically it’s a request to see who’s interested and who can qualify to build a project like this,” Bruce explained.
One company looking to get in on the development is MiEnergy.
“We’ve been analyzing this market here for a little while,” MiEnergy President Kevin Bergeron.
The Saskatoon-based company primarily installs private solar panels and geothermal power systems for the past 15 years.
Bergeron said the company has been looking to enter into utility scale projects in other provinces prior to SaskPower’s announcement.
Part of why SaskPower is beginning to invest in solar now is the price point.
“Specifically to the last five years we’ve seen the cost of solar drop about 75 or 80 per cent,” Bergeron said.
SaskPower is also partnering with the First Nations Power Authority (FNPA). The two sides are negotiating two more 10 megawatt projects that can serve First Nations communities.
“Well I think it creates a level playing field that anybody can get into an opportunity to provide power, not only in their own community, but to other communities as well,” FNPA chair Chief Felix Thomas said.
SaskPower is also looking for other community groups, like co-operatives that may be interested in partnering on similar projects.
The solar panels are part of the provincial government’s plan to produce 50 per cent of Saskatchewan’s power from renewables by 2030.
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