Contribute to the Future Supply Plan

Thanks for your question. In terms of power reliability, one possible benefit is an improved level of service. This is because upgrades will need to be made to the local distribution system to support construction of the facility. In terms of water use, there is potential to design the cooling water system collaboratively with other partners in the area. This could include irrigation projects. 

Reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from the power grid is going to require significant financial investment. No matter which generation options we use going forward, power rates will increase. Currently, wind and solar are the two cheapest generating options available in Saskatchewan. But it’s important to note that wind and solar are non-dispatchable or intermittent power supply options. Given this intermittency of renewable generation, currently about 80 per cent of the energy consumed in Saskatchewan comes from reliable baseload sources that can provide power 24/7. Today, most of our baseload sources emit greenhouse gases (GHGs). Until emerging low- and non-emitting baseload (or dispatchable) generation options -- such as long-duration energy storage, carbon capture and storage on natural gas, and nuclear small modular reactors -- are commercially available in Saskatchewan, natural gas generation will continue to be critical to ensuring reliability for our customers.

Hi there! Thanks for your interest in participating in the Shared Renewables focus groups. We’re sorry you’re not able to make it to this discussion. We will be covering this topic at our Power Talks session -- Customer Renewable Programs: Alternatives to Self-Generation on Oct. 12 from 12 – 1 p.m. Please register at saskpower.com/powertalks to attend. We’re also planning more engagement activities to talk about the future of customer self-generation in the coming months.

In the meantime, we’re about to begin Stage 3 of our Future Supply Plan – 2030 and Beyond engagement project and we’ve been working hard to be as inclusive as we can during this project. Stage 1 ran from September to November 2022. Stage 2 ran from December to April 2023. As we head into the fall, you’ll see more chances for engagement coming up in October, November, and December 2023. 

Stage 3 will include:

• Online deep-dive engagement sessions
• In-person workshops in five Saskatchewan cities
• Virtual learning events (Power Talks series)
• Surveys, quick polls, and more!

We’ll share new engagement opportunities here on saskpower.com/engage and through our Future Supply newsletter. Sign up at saskpower.com/newsletters.

Electric vehicles are an interesting emerging technology that we’re certainly keeping our eye on. As more electric vehicles are purchased by our customers, it presents opportunities for SaskPower to serve an increasing load as customer demand for electricity grows and to potentially take advantage of the energy storage capability of the batteries in these electric vehicles. To capitalize on these and other opportunities, we are transforming our distribution system to enhance our ability to manage our power grid in the future.

Thanks for your question! Potentia Renewables is the independent power producer that owns and manages the wind facility south of Assiniboia. We have a power purchase agreement (PPA) with them to buy the power the wind facility generates. Due to the competitive nature of PPAs we aren’t able to disclose the exact cost we pay Potentia per megawatt hour ($/MWh). However, during the competitive request for proposals phase, SaskPower reviewed 29 proposals from 15 pre-qualified proponents. The average price of all 29 bids was $42/MWh, including the cost of connecting the facility to the power grid. The winning bid provided by Potentia came in well below that.

The expected lifespan for photovoltaics is 20-35 years, and for concentrated solar power is 30 years. We’re currently building our first battery energy storage system and we expect its lifespan will be about 20 years. Solar panels may reflect some of the sun’s rays, but anti-reflection coatings can mitigate this while also increasing a solar panel’s efficiency. Solar power is an important component of Saskatchewan’s future energy mix.

Put simply, net zero means achieving a balance where carbon emitted into the atmosphere is equal to the carbon removed from it. This can be achieved by cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible and finding ways to remove (offset) any remaining emissions. Offsets may include introducing management practices that improve the carbon absorbing capacity of the land, sequestering greenhouse gases from industrial processes, or extracting carbon from the air using new technologies.

The United Nations Climate Change branch is a leader in climate science and has done much research on this topic. They report that multiple independent studies over the past 19 years have found that between 90 and 100 per cent of scientists agree that humans are responsible for climate change, with most of the studies finding a 97 per cent consensus. The UN offers some great resources to learn more about climate change, the causes of climate change, threats of climate change and more at ClimateChange | United Nations. For up-to-date global greenhouse gas data, trends, and resources, visit Global Monitoring Laboratory - Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases (noaa.gov).

We’re committed to supporting customers who wish to generate their own power through renewable technologies. We must also ensure these customers have the opportunity to do so without being unfairly subsidized by customers who don’t self-generate. 

SaskPower doesn’t offer incentives or rebates for the purchase or installation of solar panels, but there are opportunities available through the federal government’s Canada Greener Homes Initiative. Net-metering customers are credited for any power they send back to the grid. Currently, the rate paid for this power is 7.5 cents per kWh. That’s the average price that SaskPower pays for its power.

Despite Saskatchewan’s tremendous solar potential, the profile for solar doesn’t align with how Saskatchewan customers use electricity. Unlike most American utilities and many in Canada, Saskatchewan is a winter peaking utility. That means that demand for electricity is greatest in the winter. SaskPower must serve that demand in real time. In winter, between 6-9 p.m., the sun has set, and customers aren’t able to rely on any solar generating systems for power. For net metering customers (and everyone else), that means relying on other sources of power generation like natural gas or coal. 

We’re currently developing plans for new and emerging small-scale technologies that will allow customers to have more control when it comes to generating, storing, and managing electricity. On the utility-scale, we plan to add up to 3,000 MW of wind and solar generation by 2035.

Thanks for your question. One of the most important aspects of the site selection process for our SMR development project is the evaluation of water. We must understand how water will be used and impacted throughout the lifecycle of a facility. As we move closer to selecting a site, we’ve been assessing the long-term availability and sustainability of the waterbodies we shortlisted in our site selection process. This includes Lake Diefenbaker, which represents one of the most abundant sources of water for Southern Saskatchewan. We’ve also been accounting for many different scenarios of climate change, including drought, that could impact these resources. While we aren’t a part of the Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation project, we are collaborating closely with the province’s Water Security Agency (WSA) to evaluate the waterbodies shortlisted. Part of their mandate is to ensure that Saskatchewan’s water systems are not over-allocated. This includes future potential irrigation projects.