Ryan Kiedrowski
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The World-Spectator
Coal will continue to help power the province, according to a letter from the provincial Minister Reponsible for SaskPower Jeremy Harrison. In a letter to SaskPower Employees dated June 18, Harrison reassured that coal would continue to be part of Saskatchewan’s energy profile.
“The Government of Saskatchewan has made the decision that SaskPower’s coal-generating power assets will be life-extended as we bridge to nuclear baseload power generation,” noted Harrison.
With power demand projected to increase substantially over the next 20 years, Harrison says the province needs all the energy resources possible to meet those needs.
“We have added hundreds of megawatts of new renewable power generation, new natural gas plants, and biomass,” Harrison said in the letter. “This is in addition to our already existing hydro and other assets.”
Currently, coal makes up around 35 per cent of total power generation in Saskatchewan, with natural gas being the largest source (approximately 50 per cent).
“It has a lot more to do with the availability of our coal,” explained MLA Sean Wilson, the legislative secretary to the Minister of Crown Investments Corporation. “Our coal units, the average run of them is between 78 and 87 per cent usage. In comparison with renewable generation, our assets typically only produce energy to their full potential at the highest level 31 per cent of the time, but the average is between 19 to 31 per cent. Obviously, renewables play an important role in the grid, but they’re no substitute for the base load generation that coal provides us.”
Even with the strong stance on coal, Harrison noted that the province is committed to achieving the goal of a net zero grid by 2050.
“But this must be done responsibly and be based on the deployment of nuclear generating assets fuelled by uranium mined in our province,” he said.
Harrison also noted work to restore the Boundary Dam 4 to service will begin this year so it can be re-certified.
“In the years to come, all coal units at Boundary Dam, Poplar River, and Shand will receive the work necessary to extend the life of those units,” he said.
Upgrading coal power plants is not a new concept, as Harrison pointed to China; where around 70 GW of new coal capacity was added in 2024. SaskPower will be life extending approximately 1,500 MW of coal assets while looking into the viability of added carbon capture and storage.
Drawing from a variety of energy sources also ensures the lights will continue to turn on.
“This is to make sure that our residents have affordable, reliable energy security,” Wilson said. “Our direction is obviously energy security and being able to be reliable and relatively affordable for the people of province. That’s why we reconsidered the future role of coal. You could build windmills, you could build solar panels, but the part that’s so important with coal is that we own it. We have large quantities and we have hundreds of years of coal. Just the certainty of it, it’s such an important part of our electrical generation.”
