Following a comprehensive competition, SaskPower has selected Iyuhána Solar LP (Iyuhána Solar) to construct and operate Saskatchewan's largest solar facility to date in the Estevan area.
With a total generating capacity of 100 megawatts (MW), this emissions-free solar facility will produce enough power for the equivalent of approximately 25,000 homes. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2025 and the facility is expected to come online as early as December 2026.
"This new solar facility will play an important role in our path to net-zero by 2050 or sooner," said Rupen Pandya, SaskPower President and CEO. "We are proud of our ongoing collaboration with Indigenous Peoples and the critical role they are playing in the successful expansion of renewable energy in our province."
A partnership between Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure, Saturn Power and Ocean Man First Nation, Iyuhána Solar, will permit, finance, construct, own, maintain and operate this facility and sell power generated to SaskPower through a 25-year power purchase agreement.
"Iyuhána Solar is honoured to be entrusted with this transformative opportunity in Saskatchewan. We are looking forward to building and operating this monumental renewable energy project and supporting the clean energy industry in Canada," said Mazen Turk, Director, Iyuhána Solar LP and CEO of Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure (GSI). "This success is the result of a strong, collaborative partnership with Ocean Man First Nation along with the determination of many team members, helping to ensure that the Iyuhána Solar Project was selected to support changing the landscape of renewable energy in Saskatchewan and Canada for generations to come."
"Our partnership with GSI and SaskPower will bring great opportunities for Ocean Man First Nation, including employment and revenue that will provide stability and sustainability for our Band," said Chief Connie Big Eagle, Ocean Man First Nation. ""We are proud that this project, which is able to generate clean power, will be known as Iyuhána Solar, which, in Nakotah translates to everyone' or all of us.' This is derived from our Nakotah belief that everyone and everything is related and therefore we must care for each other."
SaskPower plans to add at least 3,000 MW of wind and solar generation to the system by 2035. In 2022, SaskPower added two new wind facilities to the grid totalling 375 MW of emissions-free power; the Golden South Wind Facility near Assiniboia and the Blue Hill Wind Facility near Herbert. The 200 MW Bekevar Wind Facility is also under construction southeast of Kipling, Saskatchewan. Is it expected to be complete by end of 2024. SaskPower also announced plans for 600 MW of new renewable generation in south-central Saskatchewan, expected to be online in 2027.
At a glance...
- SaskPower has selected Iyuhána Solar LP to construct a new 100-megawatt solar facility near Estevan
- Iyuhána Solar LP is a partnership between Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure (GSI), Saturn Power and Ocean Man First Nation
- Construction is scheduled to begin in 2025, with a completion date as early as December 2026
- Learn more about SaskPower's future supply plan at saskpower.com/futuresupply
