Saskatchewan's next natural gas-fired power plant is progressing, on time and on budget. The 350 megawatt (MW) Chinook Power Station is expected to come online in late 2019.

"To put that in perspective, when this plant is operational, it will be able to generate enough power for a city the size of Saskatoon," said SaskPower Vice-President of Power Production Howard Matthews. "The Chinook Power Station is an important part of SaskPower's plans to meet a growing demand for electricity in Saskatchewan. Also, in keeping with our commitment to renewable energy, this plant is designed so that intermittent power generation options like wind and solar can be integrated down the road."

Construction on the power station located near Swift Current began in January 2017. So far it's involved removing the equivalent of 35 Olympic swimming pools of dirt, pounding 1,300 steel piles, installing 3.5 kilometres of underground conduit and piping, and pouring 1,850 cubic meters, or 250 truckloads, of concrete foundation.

Beginning this fall, people living nearby will notice a number of large pieces of equipment being transported to the project site as the look of the power station will start to take shape.

It's expected that the construction process will create approximately 500 jobs, with an estimated 24 workers required to run the facility once it's finished. Employees and contractors at the site reached an important safety milestone this month when they worked 100,000 hours without a lost time injury.

SaskPower is committed to a diverse mix of generation options that include renewable and non-renewable sources. The roughly 650 MW of new generation needed by 2020 includes this natural gas project, along with approximately 200 MW in wind and 40 MW of solar.

For more information on SaskPower's supply options, visit saskpower.com. #PowerToGrow

At a glance...

• Chinook Power Station is on time and on budget
• Once online, can power a city the size of Saskatoon
• Safety milestone: 100,000 hours without lost time injury