Ottawa providing more than $265M to help Sask. upgrade electrical grid, build renewable power projects

The federal government says it will be providing Saskatchewan with more than $265 million to help build more renewable power projects as well as modernize and upgrade the province’s electrical grid.

In a news release, the government said that its Canada’s Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program will give more than $12 million for multiple projects aimed at building more renewable power sources that includes:

• Over $2.7 million for the 1.4-megawatt Cosette Solar Project in Estevan, owned in part by White Bear First Nation
• Nearly $2.7 million for the one-megawatt NM Solar Project in Lomond No. 37, owned in part by White Bear First Nation
• $2 million for the 100-megawatt Prairie Coast Solar Project in Lajord
• Over $1.8 million for the one-megawatt Kiyam Solar Project near Gladmar, partly owned by Mistawasis Nêhiyawak First Nation
• Over $1.8 million for the one-megawatt Iskotew Solar Project near Alsask, partly owned by Mistawasis Nêhiyawak First Nation.
• Over $1.3 million for the 500-kilowatt AC La Plonge Solar Project with English River First Nation

According to the federal government, once the listed projects are completed, they would provide power to almost 20,000 Saskatchewan homes.

“We are Powering Canada Forward by unlocking opportunities in every province and territory, leveraging their unique strengths to rapidly grow and responsibly decarbonize their grids,” Minister of Energy and Natural resources Jonathan Wilkinson said in the release.

“Thanks to a suite of historic investments, industrial pricing returns, permitting reform, demand-side measures, and other federal actions, we are already seeing great progress to support Saskatchewan’s growing demand for electricity.”

SaskPower will receive more than $256.7 million Ottawa says is earmarked for a range of job-creating, clean power projects that will grow and modernize the province’s energy grid.

Of that amount, Ottawa says $70 million will be for upgrades to more than 6,000 kilometres of critical rural power lines.

That will include replacing aging installations and system upgrades, according to the federal government.

The $256.7 million investment will also include:

• Over $55 million for a 60 megawatt/60-megawatt hours battery storage system and associated technologies to help manage peak demand and integrate renewables.
• Nearly $80 million for a new substation and two 240-kilowatt transmission lines connecting the province to the Southwest Power Pool in the United States, facilitating 500 megawatts of additional transmission service.
• Over $9 million to support consumer and household energy efficiency programs, including SaskPower’s new Energy Efficiency Discount Program that helps pay for ENERGY STAR appliances, home insulation, and other cost-saving measures for families.
• Over $20 million to help retrofit Northern First Nations’ homes and help new buildings achieve higher cost-saving energy efficiency performance standards.
• Over $5 million to develop power generation in remote and northern communities, while replacing aging distribution infrastructure.

Nearly $14 million to add 400 megawatts of wind power and 300 megawatts of solar generation in south-central Saskatchewan by 2027. So far, a portion of this funding has been allocated to support the implementation of a 200-megawatt wind facility project partnership between Innagreen Investments and Awasis Nehiyawewini Energy Development Limited and a 100-megawatt solar project partnership between Iyuhána Solar LP and Ocean Man First Nation.

And additional investments to train more Indigenous power line technicians alongside the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies.

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“As someone with deep roots in Saskatchewan, I know that these investments in Saskatchewan’s electricity grid will create jobs and ensure the province remains a destination of choice for investors looking to expand their operations,” Wilkinson said in the release.

“From Indigenous solar projects to small modular reactor permitting and transmission upgrades the federal government will be a partner and staunch supporter to ensure that we build up and power a strong and reliable 21st century economy, without making compromises on affordability.”

The latest funding follows over $75 million of previously announced investments in Indigenous-led clean power projects in the province, according to the federal government.

The past investments included Ochapowace Nation, Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Star Blanket Cree Nation, Cowessess First Nation, the nine First Nations of the Meadow Lake Tribal Council, and the First Nations Power Authority of Saskatchewan.

'A return of carbon tax dollars'

In an email sent to CTV News, Minister responsible for SaskPower Jeremy Harrison said the announcement from the feds Future Electricity Fund was nothing more than Ottawa returning carbon tax dollars it had previously collected from Saskatchewan residents through power bills. 

“Today’s announcement from the Future Electricity Fund is simply the return of carbon tax dollars collected from SaskPower customers by the Liberal/NDP federal government that is required under The Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act. The federal government has needlessly increased the cost of power for Saskatchewan people and we continue to call on the federal government to eliminate the carbon tax and return the $483 million of Saskatchewan carbon tax dollars they continue to hold in the Future Electricity Fund," Harrison's statement in the email read.