New SaskPower station boots up outside Moose Jaw
Crown utility says plant can generate enough to power 370,000 homes
A new power station is up and running outside of Moose Jaw, Sask.
SaskPower officially opened the 370-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas fired Great Plains power station on Tuesday. Construction started back in March 2021.
The Crown corporation said it worked with more than 300 local companies, providing $267 million in contracts to Saskatchewan businesses and $49 million to Indigenous companies.
SaskPower said the plant can generate enough to power 370,000 homes.
Rupen Pandya, SaskPower president and CEO, said the facility will contribute to the entire energy grid in the province, bolstering its resiliency.
Pandya said natural gas will play an important role in the Crown corporation's transition toward net-zero emissions by the year 2050.
"SaskPower is currently committed to the growth plan objectives of decarbonizing electricity by 2050, and using natural gas to allow us to transition will allow us to integrate renewables as well [as] wind and solar," Pandya said at the grand opening on Tuesday.
The federal government recently backed away from its goal of achieving net-zero in the national electricity grid by 2035 after provinces like Saskatchewan strongly opposed the draft regulations, saying they would be impossible to achieve.
Pandaya said carbon capture may be a possibility at the facility in the future.
"We're looking at all options as we think about 2050 and we need to make those decisions as that technology commercializes."
Justice Minister Tim Mcleod said the Sask. Party government has been clear with its energy goals.
"We're more concerned about reliable, affordable power for the people of Saskatchewan," Mcleod said at the power station opening.