SaskPower headquarters in Regina. Don Healy / Regina Leader-Post

SaskPower posted a $46-million profit in 2016-17 and executives at the Crown corporation are confident it will reach its goal of producing 50 per cent of power to the province through renewable sources by 2030.

SAskPowers annual report, released Wednesday, showed it invested$866 million in the provinces electricity system over the past year, largely to sustain an aging power grid.

Coal remains a significant source of power for the province: 32 per cent of available power capacity right now is generated from the non-renewable resource.

Natural gas produces 40 per cent of the provinces power, hydro accounts for 20 per cent and wind for five per cent. Other sources make up the last three per cent.

In the 2016-17 fiscal year, SaskPower spent $112 million refurbishing three power stations in its coal fleet, in large part, according to the report, because the resource remains a cost-effective supply.

The province has an in-principle agreement to ease the economic impact of new federal coal regulations, but will still need to make significant investments in other power sources in order to meet the 50 per cent target by 2030.

SaskPower is planning to add more wind power capacity to its grid. Wind accounts for 220 megawatts of the Crowns total power mix right now. That number is targeted to grow to 2,100 MW (30 per cent) of the total power mix by 2030 .

Each year from now until then, the province is looking to add roughly 200 MWs in order to reach that goal. A 175 MW wind project in southern Saskatchewan is currently in production and SaskPower has a request for proposal out looking to develop another 200 MW.

A $300-million, 50-year life extension project of six unitsat the E.B. Campbell Hydroelectric Station also began in 2016-17.

SaskPower also launched a competitive process for the provinces first10 MW, utility-scale solar project, which once built will be the first Canadian project of its size outside of Ontario.

Despite the annual report stating Saskatchewan has the best potential in Canada for solar power, it is taking a back seat to wind.

SaskPower president and CEO Mike Marsh says this is because the cost of wind is more favourable given current market conditions.

Beyond coal, significant investments continue to be made in other non-renewable resources.

In the last fiscal year, SaskPower started construction of a 350 MW natural gas-fired plant, Chinook Power Station, near Swift Current.

Marsh says that natural gas will be playing a bigger role in 2030, in order to backstop renewable energy sources.

We cannot rely on wind and solar to provide that baseload energy, he said, suggesting a full jump to renewable energy sources may be possible later in the century.

While the federal government has already put forward a plan to phase out conventional coal, there is a growing expectation more restrictions will also be put on natural gas.

Marsh says if that happens it would have an impact on us, in terms of the type of unit we might select for our next gas unit of generation.

Coal is expected to give way to natural gas over the next decade-plus, but during that transition Saskatchewans carbon emissions are expected to reach record-high levels in 2020.

While its going to peak, we have every expectation it will come down after that, said Gord Wyant, the minister responsible for SaskPower.

Marsh says rate increases can still be expected but that the Crown always looks to keep rate increases as moderate as possible.

NDP MLA Carla Beck said she is not terribly confident at all SaskPower will meet its 2030 target and was critical of the Crown increasing rates five times in two years.

It will really have an impact on Saskatchewan people, she said.

dfraser@postmedia.com

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SaskPower makes profit of $46 million according to annual report ... - Regina Leader-Post