Today
Why not more wind?
Wind power has many benefits but it also has limitations. Simply put, we cannot count on the wind to blow all day, every day. Since the technology to store electricity generated by this renewable source does not exist in a large scale, utility–grade format, if there was no wind on any particular day, this approach would leave us without electricity
For that reason, wind will likely never be able to provide all of the
electricity required by our customers. Wind generation must always be backed
up by other forms of generation to provide a seamless transition of power
to your home or business.
What kinds of power do we have in Saskatchewan?
Currently wind makes up about 5 per cent of SaskPower’s generating capacity. That’s the highest percentage in all of Canada.
Coal provides base-load power generation and approximately half of our overall generation capacity. Natural gas and hydroelectric generation stations provide peaking capacity, another 16 per cent and 24 per cent respectively, when demand for electricity from our customers is very high. The balance of our power needs are met by power purchased from independent power producers.
Can we add more wind power to the mix?
As we gain knowledge into how to best incorporate fluctuating wind generation
into the provincial electrical system, we will be able to make decisions
on how much more wind generation can be added.
Estimates indicate we could potentially use wind power to meet between 10 and 20 per cent of our total generating capacity. Only a few places in the world are able to incorporate those high levels of wind generation into their systems, and usually only by relying on interconnections with electrical grids in neighbouring jurisdictions to keep the system stable and ensure adequate capacity.
We remain enthusiastic about the future of wind generation in Saskatchewan and continue to follow emerging developments world-wide.
How good is our wind resource?
Saskatchewan’s three major wind power facilities all calculate their
annual generation based on formulas developed for their particular location,
specifications and expected maintenance schedules. Saskatchewan’s
rich wind resources allow for an expected annual generating capacity of
around 40 per cent. This is considered very good - in many other areas
of the world, wind turbine average capacity is 20 to 30 per cent.
