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SaskPower
The provincial utility is engaged with Ontario Power Generation, an experienced nuclear operator, to learn from Ontario’ s deployment of the first BWRX-300 reactor at its Darlington site in 2030.“ I recently visited Darlington and there is a lot of exciting work going on. We’ re seeing that develop first hand and it’ s making real progress,” he reveals.
While energy security means there must be enough power to meet local demands, Harrison would like to see SaskPower as a significant net energy exporter to neighboring provinces.“ We are uniquely positioned in almost the center of the North American energy grid, and we see real promise in how we can use that position,” he explains. Robust transmission capacity is a crucial element of this, as it not only enables critical interprovincial and international power trading but serves as the backbone for ensuring grid reliability, integrating renewable and future energy sources.“ We already have about 400 megawatts of interconnection with our neighboring province, Manitoba to the east, and about 150 megawatts with Alberta to the
west. Our current 150-megawatt connection to the US in the south is being expanded to 650 megawatts,” notes Harrison.“ We are focused on expanding our transmission infrastructure, both within the province and in terms of our interconnection capacity with our neighbors.”
The Saskatchewan First Energy Security Strategy and Supply Plan emphasizes the importance of transmission infrastructure, detailing the need for renewal of aging assets and expansion of the current network. Harrison stresses the importance of this strategic direction.“ That is going to be a big focus that we have, as well as the life extension work that we are doing on our thermal coal facilities,” he concludes.“ It’ s a busy time and we’ re very excited about the future.” As Saskatchewan continues to experience rapid growth, the province’ s comprehensive energy strategy aims to balance immediate power needs with long-term sustainability and economic goals. ■
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