New wind energy project to be built in southeast Saskatchewan

Renewable Energy Systems Canada and the Cowessess First Nation are to team up on Saskatchewan’s next utility-scale wind energy project.

In a media release Thursday, SaskPower said a bid by RES and Awasis Nehiyawewini Energy Development — which is owned by the Cowessess First Nation — had been chosen for the Bekevar Wind Energy Project.

The facility is to be built southeast of Kipling in the rural municipalities of Hazelwood and Kingsley and on Cowessess First Nation land.

The project is expected to generate 200 megawatts (MW) of power, or enough to serve up to 100,000 homes.

“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 is a priority for SaskPower,” Mike Marsh, the president and CEO of the Crown corporation, said in the release.

“Incorporating wind power through projects such as Bekevar is a crucial component of our strategy to make significant reductions to emissions while ensuring SaskPower can supply reliable, sustainable, and affordable power to our customers.”

SaskPower will buy electricity generated at Bekevar through a 25-year agreement.

Construction is expected to start in the summer of 2022, with completion expected by the end of 2023.

Three other wind projects are under construction in the province: the Riverhurst Wind Project (10 MW), Blue Hill near Herbert (175 MW) and Golden South near Assiniboia (200 MW).

There currently are six wind facilities operating in Saskatchewan that produce a total of 241 MW for the provincial grid.