Gala grand opening for Chinook Power Station
In addition to being the newest source of electricity generation for Saskatchewan, the facility also helps the province meet their greenhouse gas emission targets. Saskatchewan is aiming for a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emission levels from 2005 levels by 2030. Saskpower officials noted that Chinook generates 380 tonnes of C02 emissions per gigawatt hour, a 60 per cent reduction form the 1,100 tonnes per gigawatt hour generated from conventional coal plants.
“Coal is still a very cheap fuel source. But you can see from the size and scale that the plants are much bigger, they require more resources, more people, more maintenance. The price of gas is low. The capital cost for these plants are relatively low. And on a what we call a levelized cost of energy basis, combined cycle natural gas is the lowest source of energy out there today. Plus, compared to coal, you are reducing your emissions by 60 per cent for every gigawatt hour that you generate,” Marsh noted.
Saskatchewan now boasts 1,500 megawatts of gas generation compared to 1,000 megawatts of coal. In recent years the province has seen the electricity generated from coal drop from 60 per cent of capacity to just under 30 per cent, while gas has grown to 45 to 50 per cent per cent of production capacity. Natural gas will eventually provide the entirety of Saskpower’s base load electricity.
“The only (coal) unit that we will be able to legally operate after 2029 is our Boundary Dam Three unit with Carbon Capture. That one will continue operating and the rest of the fleet will be on gas or some other form of energy like hydro. And you’ve heard recently statements about nuclear technology, and that’s going to be something we’re going to look at over the next decade,” Marsh stated.
“We want to use as much renewable energy as we can. And that’s why we continue to add wind facilities. But we have to be prepared when that wind isn’t blowing to be able to operate a facility like this. So if we have the proper load and supply balance when the wind is not blowing, then this plant will ramp up to make sure we have enough energy flowing through the grid for our customers out there.”
Minister Responsible for Saskpower Dustin Duncan explained that the Chinook Power Station will play a vital role in providing the electricity the province needs to grow.
“The natural gas power generated from Chinook is a cleaner source fuel and provides the necessary baseload power that is needed to support future renewable generation sources. Intermittent generation sources like wind and solar aren’t available 24/7 and must be balanced with other sources that are always available, like natural gas,” Duncan said during last Friday’s grand opening.
Chinook Power Station came on line on November 10, less than three years following a January 2017 construction start. During that time period they recorded just one lost time injury among two million hours of labour during construction.
Duncan also highlighted the importance of the natural gas fired generation method in supplementing the growing amount of renewable energy being produced in Saskatchewan.
“They’re critical because we essentially need to bring on, for every one megawatt of renewable power that we’re bringing on line, we need to bring on a megawatt of base load power. For us over the next decade, depending on some other decisions that may need to be made, but base load power will essentially be natural gas power. So a combined cycle facility like Chinook, the newest facility utilizing the latest technology, we know combined cycle natural gas facilities are a significant reduction in the emissions profile of a plant of this size compared to some of the other fuel options that we do have.”
“A plant like this is critical for us in order to hit that 40 per cent reduction in our emissions by 2030, and part of that plan is utilizing up to 50 per cent capacity of renewable power, and it’s not possible without a plant like this.”