The facility is expected to be operational by the end of 2019.
SaskPower announced plans Tuesday for the province's first utility-scale solar power project.
A company called Saturn Power (based in Ontario) signed a 20-year agreement with SaskPower to build and maintain the facility. It will be located in the RM of Coulee, near Swift Current, and will provide 10 megawatts of power, which is enough to power roughly 2,000 homes.
Doug Opseth with SaskPower said 10 megawatts is small compared to the amount of electricity the province actually uses, but that it's a step in the right direction.
SaskPower and the provincial government “refused to acknowledge our existence in four years,” Glennie said.
It would have been the first 100 per cent community-owned renewable power project in North America.
Located just south of Swift Current, Sask., the $90-million project would have generated 35 megawatts (MW) of electricity from wind turbines and solar panels with electricity sold to the provincial utility, SaskPower.
But SaskPower had other plans for the region — specifically, a $700-million natural gas power station.
On Dec. 2, it was announced that the gas power station — which will emit one million tonnes of greenhouse gases annually, equivalent to putting 211,000 cars on the road for a year — wouldn’t require a federal environmental assessment.
Two days later, SaskWind, the provincial wind energy association and key promoter of the proposed Swift Current wind and solar project, shut down after four years of operation.
In a final blog post, SaskWind president James Glennie wrote that the decision about the environmental assessment of the natural gas power station was “extremely disappointing, includes no justification and verges on the inexplicable.”
SaskPower Emergency Repair Outage-Carrot River Rural/Arborfield
At 9:56 am, SaskPower has sent out a notice on their mobile app notifying customers of the following emergency outage affecting rural customers East and South of Carrot River and Arborfield;
Power Outage South of Garrick & Choiceland; Accident At approximately 6 am on Friday, May 17, 2019 SaskPower reported an unplanned power outage in rural areas south of Choiceland & Garrick.
Power Outage in Naicam, Pleasantdale, & Lac Vert region
Power Outage in Naicam, Pleasantdale, & Lac Vert region
As of 8:57 am on Monday, December 31st, 2018, SaskPower has announced on their Outage Reports and Updates, that crews have been dispatched to repair a power outage effecting the Naicam, Pleasantdale and Lac Vert areas.
Power outage in #yqr Our telephone lines are not functioning and offices closed due to a #saskpower outage in #yqr Please contact us via our website http://bit.ly/2sCqM3K through chat or email or via any of our social channels should you require immediate assistance.
