A battery storage system will help SaskPower balance the power system when power demand spikes for short periods of time. It will also act as a support to intermittent generation options, like wind and solar. The system will be able to power up to 20,000 homes for one hour.
"The battery system will be the first of its kind in Saskatchewan and serve as an opportunity for SaskPower to gain experience operating and maintaining them," said Tim Eckel, SaskPower Vice-President of Asset Management, Planning and Sustainability. "It will also help us understand all the benefits they can provide to our system."
SaskPower plans to add 685 MW of new wind and 60 MW of solar in the next few years.
Battery storage has more flexibility and can respond quicker to short-term power fluctuations than some of the conventional generating units that are currently on the system. However, we cannot rely on this technology alone to power the province as it does not act as 24/7 baseload power.
Construction is targeted to start in late summer 2021 and be completed by the end of 2022. This project will cost an estimated $26 million and will be funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
For further information on this project, please visit saskpower.com/projects.
At a glance...
- SaskPower's first battery energy storage system will be located in northeast Regina
- It will help to balance the power system and support intermittent generation options
- The system is expected to be completed by the end of 2022
