SaskPower at least 10 years from having week without coal

Don’t expect SaskPower to match the United Kingdom’s recent coal-less week anytime soon.

England, Scotland and Wales didn’t draw any electrical power from coal-generated energy between May 1 and May 8, marking the first time since 1882 the UK had gone without the inexpensive fossil fuel source.

But SaskPower’s Doug Opseth, director of generation asset management and planning, said the UK was able to do so because they aren’t nearly as reliant on coal energy as Saskatchewan.

About 10 per cent of the UK’s normal power generation comes from coal, while Saskatchewan uses it for 32 per cent of the province’s power.

“It’s not going to be something that’s going to happen today,” Opseth said of trying a week without coal. “Our focus right now is on emission reduction.”

The Crown Corporation utility is currently working to cut down emissions to 40 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.

To do so, the company is moving to shut down conventional coal use by that year to comply with federal regulations, while at the same time bringing more renewable energy sources online.

Opseth told 650 CKOM they’re looking at sources like wind, solar and hydro power, which could eventually lead to little reliance on fossil fuels like coal.

“Certainly as you start adding more intermittent renewable generation on your system, there will be times where you’ll have more wind blowing and less natural gas and coal fire generation running,” he said.

However, he noted natural gas will be necessary as a backup.

“(Wind and solar) would be things you can’t always rely on being there when you need them,” he said.

Coal power is currently generated by power stations near Estevan and Coronach for SaskPower use.

Opseth noted some coal will still be used past 2030, with facilities like Boundary Dam 3 equipped with carbon capture and storage technology, allowing that coal generation to continue until the end of the station’s lifespan in 2044.

But there could be weeks, like the one the UK just had, where coal won’t be needed at all.

“There’s a potential for that in the coming 10 or 15 years,” Opseth said.