Time: 2024-07-08
An event was held on Wednesday afternoon to mark the commissioning of Saskatchewans first - ever utility - scale battery Energy storage system ( BESS ) , which is now online . The system can provide up to 20 megawatts of power to the grid , which is the equivalent of powering up to 20,000 homes for one hour . Rupen Pandya , SaskPower 's president and CEO , said this is a historic day for SaskPower as it marks the official commissioning of the first utility - scale BESS into the company 's fleet.
Breaking news from Canada and around the world sent to your email , as it happens . This is a first - of - a - kind project that our company is endeavoured on , and it is a welcome addition to the entire SaskPower system , Pandya said.
The Saskatchewan minister responsible for SaskPower said the addition of battery storage will enable SaskPower to better respond to the fluctuating demands of the province 's electrical grid . SaskPower 's clean energy transition is well underway and will only accelerate in coming years , with up to 50 per cent of power coming from renewables by 2030 and 3,000 MW of renewables added to the grid by 2035 , Dustin Duncan said . BESS construction began in 2022 in Regina . The facility cost 4 million to build.
SaskPower has announced that a new battery - based energy storage system is online in Regina . It 's the first facility of its kind in Saskatchewan and is meant to add flexibility to the power grid , especially when there is high demand during the frozen depths of winter or the sweltering heat of summer . " The objective of a battery energy storage system is to shave peak load . So they 're used very strategically , but they 're necessary to ensure you 're balancing the intermittence of wind and solar in our system , " said Rupen Pandya , CEO of SaskPower.
The 4 - million project was partially funded by the federal government , which chipped in 3.1 million . The rest was covered by SaskPower . The storage happens in large ion batteries housed in modified shipping containers at a substation on Fleet Street . The containers are fenced off from the public and appear to be nothing special on the outside , but officials say this and similar projects will help Saskatchewan in the future . Officials say this is unlikely to be the only facility of its kind in the province . SaskPower hopes to add up to 500 MW of battery energy storage system as the province looks to incorporate 3,000 MW of Renewable energy into the grid by 2035.
Business
