SaskPower details potential future energy mixes including nuclear, solar and more – DiscoverMooseJaw.com

Saskatchewan’s energy balance is one of the topics that often comes up as provinces take steps to diversify their energy base.

The province draws energy from many sources, and new investments could expand it even further.

Garret Sliva, senior mechanical engineer in supply planning at SaskPower, talks about the province’s current energy focus.

“Currently, our voivodeship relies on four main energy sources. Largely based on fossil fuels, with natural gas accounting for almost 39%. and on conventional coal, which still accounts for 24%. our total production capacity. We also have services from hydro generating 21 percent of our energy and wind producing an additional 11 percent.”

“These hydro, wind and, of course, solar energy sources are considered renewable energy and do not emit any greenhouse gases. We also have several other different small sources that make up 3 percent of our energy grid, which includes things like carbon capture coal and projects related to storing and otherwise using waste heat for energy, so SaskPower is well on its way to reducing gas emissions greenhouse gases by at least 50 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.

Sliva says SaskPower is committed to achieving net zero emissions in the future, which means their energy mix will inevitably change.

SaskPower hopes to let people know exactly what this means so that their users are informed throughout the process.

“We are currently updating our long-term energy supply plan to take this situation into account. We invite our customers to learn about the delivery options we already use and those we are considering in the future. Our supply and planning team is therefore responsible for assessing and recommending electricity supply options, as well as developing short and long-term supply plans.

Sliva outlined the five steps they take in this process

1. Determine how people wanted to be involved.
2. Understand priorities including reliability, affordability and the environment.
3. A future energy supply scenario exploration stage, exploring some different paths based on people’s priorities from the previous stage.
4. Provide a preview of the draft long-term plan.
5. The final report will be published later this month.

Sliva says the road to net zero emissions in 2050 could take many twists and turns.

“The important thing to note is that there really isn’t one scenario or one clear path that will get us to 2050, and it’s certainly not the ideal path today. The plan does not select one specific thing, but rather provides recommendations and direction that then inform our short-term or near-term delivery plan. It is an iterative process and we continue to update our long-term plan every two to three years as we continue to change and evolve.”

In the current plan, SaskPower has identified six short-term actions that will be taken before 2035.

1. Expansion of a large natural gas facility with carbon capture and storage options to enable a potential commissioning date as early as 2033.
2. Continued evaluation of the conversion of major units to fuel gas instead of coal, which will help to extend the operational life of these facilities on a limited basis.
3. Continue to evaluate 4-hour batteries as an energy storage option beyond 2028.
4. Continue to explore forms of long-term energy storage, such as compressed air energy storage, and identify the potential it would have for the grid.
5. Brush up on some of the hydropower projects in Saskatchewan that show the highest potential for consideration beyond 2035, largely due to the timing of these large hydroelectric projects.
6. Maintain current use of wind and solar resources and plan to add up to 3,000 megawatts of additional wind and solar capacity by 2035.