SaskPower is leading the development of one of the first and largest integrated clean coal/carbon capture demonstration projects in the world at Boundary Dam Power Station in Estevan, Saskatchewan. This is an excellent example of Saskatchewan and Canada's leadership in addressing the global challenge of climate change, and is the result of SaskPower's intensive research into clean coal technologies in recent years.
The $1.4 billion dollar government-industry partnership between the Government of Canada, the Government of Saskatchewan, SaskPower and private industry would demonstrate the technical, economic and environmental merits of carbon capture and sequestration technology.
If proven viable, the clean coal/carbon capture demonstration project would rebuild Boundary Dam Unit #3 with carbon capture technology, extending its life by approximately 30 years. It would fully integrate a coal-fired generation unit with carbon capture and an enhanced oil recovery operation, resulting in low-emission electricity and carbon dioxide for oil extraction.
When fully operational in 2015, the 100-megawatt demonstration project would capture approximately one million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which represents a 7.6 per cent reduction in SaskPower's total carbon dioxide emissions from 2006 levels.
In the 2008 budget, the federal government committed $240 million in trust in support of the demonstration project. This funding was critical in moving the demonstration project forward. Private sector investment of approximately $400 million would be directed to the pipeline required to transport the captured carbon dioxide to the oilfields and the infrastructure required in the enhanced oil recovery process.
If proven viable, SaskPower's customers and key stakeholders would be fully engaged during each step of the multi-year work leading up to the commissioning of the demonstration project, with open and proactive communications.
Check back soon for updates on this project.
