SaskPower announces second utility-scale wind energy project in a month

Another utility-scale wind project will be up and running in the next few years in Saskatchewan. SaskPower has chosen Potentia Renewables Inc. as their latest partner. Potentia will be building a 200 megawatt wind farm just south of Assiniboia, Sask.

Once complete, the facility is expected to include 60 wind turbines and generate enough power for around 90,000 homes.

“This new wind energy project further demonstrates our commitment to renewable energy as part of our comprehensive provincial climate change strategy” said SaskPower Minister Dustin Duncan. “Despite what the federal government says, our opposition to the federal carbon tax does not mean we don’t believe in climate action.”

Expanding wind power is a key aspect of the province’s climate plan, Prairie Resiliance. This includes generating up to 50 per cent of SaskPower’s capacity through renewables, with wind power making around 30 per cent.

Potentia’s Golden South Wind Energy Facility is expected to be complete in 2021. This will bring Saskatchewan’s wind power up to 600 megawatts once complete.

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In September, Duncan announced the details surrounding the approval of Algonquin Power’s Blue Hill project south of Herbert.

That project had to be delayed for due to being in a migratory bird pathway, and helped the province revise their siting rules for wind projects.

With the renewable energy technology continually evolving, Duncan says that the province will continue to do staggered announcements of 200 megawatt wind projects.

“The technology is changing so rapidly, and prices are coming down so rapidly. So we don’t want to be locked in, in this case it’s a 25 year contract, we don’t want to be locked in with a large amount in one block,” Duncan said.

“We might find more favourable prices if we chunked it out smaller, so that’s part of the strategy going forward.”

SaskPower will be buying power from Potentia for the next 25 years.

SaskPower will be putting out another tender for wind energy projects next spring.