SaskPower has announced the first project to come into service through the Power Generation Partner Program (PGPP).
The S Elect 284-kilowatt solar project completed commissioning on June 26, with the 20-year contract supply period beginning on June 27.
The facility connects to provincial electrical grid at the Stenen substation, which is located near Preeceville.
The PGPP provides customers with the opportunity to generate power through renewable generation, such as solar, or carbon neutral non-renewable generation, such as flare gas.
SaskPower recently announced the third and final intake for the program, which will take place in October 2020.
The Power Generation Partner Program will accept applications for the third and final year of the program from Oct 22 to Oct 30, 2020.
“Year three of PGPP builds on the positive feedback we have received from customers participating in year one and year two of the program,” said Shawn Schmidt, SaskPower’s Vice-President of Distribution and Customer Services in a recent release. “At the completion of the program, there will be up to 105 megawatts of customer-generated power added to the grid. This will support SaskPower’s goal of reducing carbon emissions to at least 40 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and provide an opportunity for our oil and gas customers to reduce their emissions.”
The PGPP has an annual cap of 10 MW per year for renewable technologies and 25 MW per year for carbon neutral non-renewable technologies. Eligible renewable technologies include solar, biomass, biogas, hydro and geothermal, with projects ranging from 100 kW up to 1 MW. Eligible carbon neutral technologies include flare gas and waste heat recovery, with projects ranging from 100 kW up to 5 MW.
PGPP was originally approved for two years with an optional third year. This is the third and final year of the program.
“While there is currently no plan to replace this program, we anticipate that customer generation will continue to play a role in our power generation mix, and the many learnings from delivering PGPP will be beneficial for the development of any future programs,” Schmidt said.
Potential applicants must book a pre-application meeting prior to October 2, 2020 to be eligible to apply.
In total, the PGPP will add up to 105 megawatts of renewable and carbon-neutral electricity to Saskatchewan’s generation mix.
