SaskPower to develop wind, solar and geothermal power to meet up to 50% renewable target

[chuckChuck]

SaskPower to develop wind, solar and geothermal power to meet up to 50% renewable target

November 23, 2015

SaskPower is committed to reducing emissions for a more environmentally sustainable future, and today, Minister responsible for SaskPower Bill Boyd joined SaskPower President and CEO Mike Marsh to announce that the corporation has set a target to double the percentage of renewable electricity generation capacity in Saskatchewan by 2030.

“An objective of 50 per cent renewable power by 2030 is ambitious, but I’m confident SaskPower can meet the target by taking an ‘all of the above’ approach to planning,” said Minister Boyd. “That means a major expansion of wind power augmented by other renewables, such as solar, biomass, geothermal and hydro, to go along with the world leading Boundary Dam 3 carbon capture project and more natural gas generation. This is the framework for a responsible clean energy plan that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring Saskatchewan has a reliable, affordable supply of electricity for years to come.”

Today, about 25% of Saskatchewan’s generation capacity comes from renewable sources – 20% from hydro and 5% or 220 megawatts (MW) from wind. Three new wind power projects already approved or in development will add another 207 MW of renewable generation by 2020.

SaskPower is planning to move forward with utility scale solar power generation, which would include at least 60 MW of solar, with a competitive procurement beginning in 2016. In an effort to expand the number of customers generating solar power, the corporation is also reviewing its Net Metering program, which offers customers generating up to 100 kilowatts of renewable energy technology the opportunity to get credit for the unused portion of their excess electricity.

SaskPower has invested in geothermal technology pre-feasibility studies to evaluate its potential in Saskatchewan. The corporation is optimistic that it can be a part of our diversified energy future, and will continue to work with the industry to determine how the technology could work within our system.

SaskPower’s plans to expand wind could make the company a leader in Canada. However, SaskPower President and CEO Mike Marsh emphasized that adding wind and other renewables in a way that’s affordable for customers is what’s important.

“The key here is that wind power has become much more economic over the years as the technology has developed. We’ve been able to understand how wind operates on our grid so we can add it in a way that balances our priorities of maintaining a sustainable and diversified generation mix with the delivery of reliable and cost-effective power to our customers,” said Marsh. “We’ll take that same approach to adding other clean options to make our renewables target of up to 50% by 2030,” he said.

To meet the target of up to 50% of SaskPower’s generation capacity from renewable sources, the corporation will be moving forward with procurement of another 100 MW of wind generation in 2016 and will develop up to 1,600 MW of new wind generation between 2019 and 2030.

“SaskPower’s new wind energy targets represent an important step forward for wind energy in Saskatchewan and will enable the province to capture more of its plentiful and cost-effective wind energy resources,” said Robert Hornung, President of the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA). “An initial procurement of 100 MW of new wind energy in 2016, followed by a series of planned future procurements for additional wind energy, will attract significant interest and ensure a highly competitive process that will produce low cost clean electricity generation for Saskatchewan ratepayers.”

Adding more clean electricity builds on SaskPower’s innovative carbon capture and storage initiatives, which the corporation will continue to explore in order to determine how to replace conventional coal-fired electricity generation in light of existing and emerging greenhouse gas emissions regulations.

Additional information can be found at http://www.saskpower.com/blog. Images can be found at: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjZv57U3

[chuckChuck]

So I have a question for all the "arm chair experts" on Agriville. If alternative energy production is not viable in Saskatchewan why is Brad Wall's Sask Power planning for and investing so much in alternative energy?

[SASKFARMER3]

REally Easy! Since the Liberals are Sinking the Great Ship Canada we may as well be on Board. Might float longer than the other provinces after it hits the Ice.

[riders2010]

The only reason its not as bad yet here as alberta is because we haven t had time to go so far on the one horse oil pony that free ride wally wants us to go.

How can anyone actually be against harnessing energy from wind geothermal etc? The technology is expensive but so was a computer when they first came out, now practically most high schoolers have a cell phone and internet. You have to start some where.

Some people need to get off the closed minded voting and start demanding more from all parties. Sask oil party will get in with a landslide and the land deal garbage will only get worse because we basically rubber stamped it. jmo.

And we should be like the usa two terms and you have to change people not the party because if the party is what people want fine but the leaders and cabinet have to change.

[chuckChuck]

U.S. Clean Energy Market Hits $200 Billion, Global Market $1.35 Trillion, Thanks to Smart Gov't Policies

Nathanael Greene

Posted March 8, 2016

Tags:
Especially as it relates to the clean energy sector, there's still a debate among politicians about whether we should use public policies and programs to drive business growth and innovation. (Witness this bit of nonsense in Congress last week about the fact that the U.S. Department of Energy's loan guarantee program has a failure rate of 2.7 percent. That means 2.7 percent of their loans to innovative energy companies go belly up. The failure rate of venture-capital-supported businesses is about 30 percent, and for energy-sector corporate businesses that number is almost five percent. By those metrics, really, the DOE Loan Program seems prescient.)

Anyway, the question some politicians still have is whether smart policies can unleash the market forces that can drive clean energy revenue increases as well as the good jobs, cleaner air, lower energy costs, and the vital hedge we need against climate change's worst effects. The answer is a resounding yes, according to the new Advanced Energy Now 2016 Market Report, released on Thursday. Not only can smart public policies do all these things, the report shows, they can do so at a rate that's almost astonishing.

_MG_4894.jpgThe US clean energy market reached a sizeable $200 billion in 2015, and the world market hit $1.35 trillion, according to a new report. That growth is due, in part, to smart government policies. They not only promote business growth and innovation, they create good jobs, improve public health, lower energy costs, and provide a vital hedge against climate change's worst effects. (Photo: Lexey Swall)

Consider this good news: Conservatively speaking, global clean energy revenue last year topped $1.35 trillion. That's right: trillion with a "t." (Conservatively, the authors say, because there are product categories and industry subsegments they didn't include because they didn't study them directly.)

If a $1.35 trillion annual market in clean energy seems too big a figure to wrap your head around, just know we're talking here about a lot of money. So much so that it's almost twice global airline revenue, and bigger than the world fashion industry in all its permutations. In fact, $1.35 trillion is closing in on the amount earned by the global media industry--everything from newspapers and video games to TV shows and movies. Think about that: Star Wars and a whole lot more. (The report explores not just the wind and solar power industries but also revenue from industries such as demand response, efficient appliances and machinery, energy management software, and electric vehicle charging--all good things for our climate and our public health.)

In the U.S., clean energy revenues last year were $200 billion. That's no small beer. In fact, that's twice the revenue of the domestic beer industry and almost the same size as wholesale consumer electronics.

In the data Advanced Energy Now reported out, the impact of policy is everywhere to be seen. Spurred by state energy efficiency standards and public utility commission mandates, for instance, the largest U.S. clean energy sector--building-industry energy efficiency--reached $63.6 billion, an increase of 50 percent over 2011. (Those standards save consumers a lot of cash, too, with mandated energy efficiency projects saving between $1.24 and $4.00 for every dollar invested.)

Solar industry revenue, buttressed by the hugely successful federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, along with state renewable energy standards and incentives, brought in an impressive $22.6 billion last year, up 21 percent over 2014 and nearly triple solar revenue in 2011. All these sales have helped drive down the cost of the average solar system by almost 50 percent over that time. (Solar jobs have skyrocketed also, thanks to these policy initiatives, reaching almost 209,000 in 2015.)

Proof that clean energy policy matters is fully in evidence in the wind power industry, Advanced Energy Now demonstrates. Briefly reinstating the expired federal Production Tax Credit for Wind Power in 2014 helped the industry to earn $14.4 billion (with 73,000 jobs) in 2015, up 75 percent from the previous year. State and regional policies promoting energy storage pushed that industry to grow by a massive 1200 percent over in 2015, to $743 million. And electric vehicle sales grew to almost $5 billion, despite historically low gas prices.

Advanced Energy Now is really just one of many reports that show how smart clean energy policies promote economic growth and business innovation across the United States. Really, by now, if you claim to love growth and business development, you should at least admit to liking clean energy policy.

[Oliver88]

The only reason its not as bad yet here as alberta is because we haven t had time to go so far on the one horse oil pony that free ride wally wants us to go.

Nobody wants Sask to be a one trick pony, we are well diversified with resources such as a strong ag sector, uranium, potash, NG, oil, coal, rare earth minerals, etc.
From our history we have learned nationalizing potash, uranium, oil, potatoes does not work.

You seem to hate Premier Wall but anyone with a brain knows better than there being a plan to make Saskatchewan on a "one trick pony".

[blackpowder]

Yet again, I challenge you to stand beside your shill posts in 14 short years! You shouldnt even be allowed out of the house without a disclaimer.

[sumdumguy]

Boyd and Marsh, what a team! Recipe for .......

[bucket]

Can someone explain the difference between nationalizing the potash industry and protecting it as a strategic resource from BHP?

[Oliver88]

Can someone explain the difference between nationalizing the potash industry and protecting it as a strategic resource from BHP?

Nationalizing = state owned enterprise.

Provincial government stopped BHP from buying PCS for $35 billion deeming it a strategic resource.

Farmland also has new restrictions for non-residents due to the CPP fiasco and Swenson beating the drum....is farmland now a strategic resource too?

[sawfly]

there would be no potash royalties, if not for the nationalization.
the company's were taxed, they refused to pay. the only recourse at the time was nationalization.
once a few were , then ok we will pay.

stop trying to rewrite history and make up your Conservative fairy tales .

[biglentil]

The biggest problem with windmills is the maintenance costs and useful life. They just do not last, high wind loads tend to be violent, gusty and not always from same direction. Pv solar panels are expensive, need regular cleaning of snow and debris. Burn coal you boobs C02 levels are 1/5th that of the Jurasic period. Biology was oversized during that period because plant life thrived. The majority of people underestimate our energy useage and over estimate energy from so called 'green' sources. The only solar panel they have experience with is on a calculator.

Also Bill Boyd should be in jail, what an incompetent baffoon.

[wilagro]

That "clean energy market" should read "clean energy racket" as these alternate sources of energy will subsidized by tax-payers for eons.
However they could use most of Saskatchewan as a collector for solar and wind sourced energy for the rest of Canada as it isn't much good for anything else. Tourists would flock in to see the miles and miles of wind driven turbines and solar collectors...and man-o-man those geothermal hot-springs around Watrous could run 24 hours a day. I wonder how long they would provide any usable energy if exploited. The tourists from Alberta would no longer have to worry about soaking their weary bones in the hot-springs as they would then be energy producers instead of tourist destinations.
Its "pie in the sky" folks...these people may be well intentioned but totally naive. Power from steam from "clean coal" operations would make more sense...maybe, just maybe Estevan and other towns might not have to be mothballed after all...the coal IS there and they still know how to mine it.
Pretty hard to shovel sunshine and wind when they disappear as sometimes happens, better to use what we know works.

[bucket]

Oliver88

Agriculture should be a strategic resource. ... every other country treats it as such domestically.

And should get more respect since it's the only industry that fires up every year.

[Oliver88]

Oliver88

Agriculture should be a strategic resource. ... every other country treats it as such domestically.

And should get more respect since it's the only industry that fires up every year.

I agree 100%.

I agree with clamping down on the rules to buy land and keep the leeches like the CPP out of the picture. We also need to clamp down on Chinese land buyers......how can we do this?