When the provincial government announced plans to forge ahead with a 10-megawatt solar power project in 2016, you could understand why local residents would view Estevan as a natural fit.
After all, we’re the energy city. We have proven ourselves as the province’s top producer of electricity, although we a different power source in coal. We are also Canada’s Sunshine Capital, with more hours of sunshine than any other community in the country.
Estevan was one of three locations considered. Swift Current and Morse were the others.
SaskPower ultimately opted for the RM of Coulee, which is just east of Swift Current, as its choice for the solar power facility.
We’ll argue that Estevan should have been the choice, but we’ll admit we’re biased.
Some might view this as an opportunity lost for the Energy City. We think it’s an opportunity that’s been delayed. Just because Estevan wasn’t chosen as the first site for a solar power facility doesn’t mean solar power won’t be here at some point in the future.
SaskPower has said in the past it’s going to add additional solar power to the grid in the province. Solar power is part of SaskPower’s plan to have 50 per cent of energy generated by renewables by 2030. And you can be sure the project in the RM of Coulee isn’t going to be a one-off initiative.
When SaskPower looks to add more solar power to the grid, hopefully it will take another long, hard look at Estevan.
The most frustrating part, though, wasn’t SaskPower’s decision to build a solar power facility in Estevan. The disappointing part was the reaction of people to the decision.
It seems there are a lot of people who viewed this as competition for carbon capture and storage. That would be incorrect. SaskPower is looking to add a lot of power through renewable resources, including solar power, in the coming years.
But with the exception of geothermal (which is also in the works for Estevan), and hydro, renewables are not a proven source for good, baseload power.
Perhaps one day we’ll figure out a way to have solar power as a baseload power option, so that it can continue to generate power when the sun isn’t shining. But that day isn’t here yet. So we’ll continue to need coal.
As for the social media know-it-alls who chimed in about this decision, they acted as if 10 megawatts of solar power would be bad news for Estevan.
They called it a waste of money, and they cited the failed electrical strategy of the former government in Ontario as an example of why solar power doesn’t work.
We should be looking at ways to diversify our economy. It’s great that we have coal-fired power generation, oil and agriculture, but the more opportunities we have for jobs, the better off we are.
Construction of a solar power facility would create jobs. The facility itself would only add a few jobs once it is complete, but those numbers would add up as more solar power is added to the grid.
Hopefully Estevan will be home to a solar power facility one day, and CCS will continue to have a big impact on power generation in the province.
Yes, we can have our cake and eat it, too.
