SaskPower to build province’s first battery energy storage system in Regina

SaskPower announced that it will be building the province’s first-ever battery energy storage system in the northeast part of Regina, to support the power grid and developing renewable energy sources.

“The battery system will be the first of its kind in Saskatchewan and serve as an opportunity for SaskPower to gain experience operating and maintaining them,” said Tim Eckel, SaskPower Vice-President of Asset Management, Planning and Sustainability. “It will also help us understand all the benefits they can provide to our system.”

The project is projected to cost an estimated $26 million and will be partly funded by the federal government through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. SaskPower will use the utility-scale storage system to balance the province’s power system during short-term demand spikes, as it will have the capacity to power up to 20,000 homes for one hour.

Battery storage offers more flexibility and a quicker response to short-term power fluctuations, said a press release from the Crown, but cannot be relied on as a baseload power source.

The system will also act as a support for developing renewable energy sources, including generation options of wind and solar. SaskPower plans to add 685 megawatts of wind and 60 megawatts of solar energy to the province’s generation sources in the next few years. Providing support for intermittent generation options like wind and solar supports SaskPower’s plan to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the province. Construction on the battery storage system will begin in the late summer of 2021, to be completed by the end of 2022.