sk transforming sask electrical future i

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Transforming SaskatchewansElectrical Future

PART ONE

Sustainability is Achievable,

But How Do We Get There?

By Mark Bigland-Pritchard and Peter Prebble

Saskatchewan Office

Suite G 2835 13th Avenue

Regina, SK S4T 1N6

www.policyalternatives.ca


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Transforming Saskatchewans Electrical FuturePART ONE

Sustainability is Achievable, But How Do We Get There?

By Mark Bigland-Pritchard and Peter Prebble

April 2010

This is the first in a series of CCPA Saskatchewan papers, written by Green Energy Project Saskatchewan

researchers, on the options for sustainable electricity generation in the province. Future papers will consider

each of the principal components outlined in the text below, explain the meaning and the relevance of

some of the commonly-used technical terms (such as baseload and smart grid), and explore the policy

options available to encourage the transition to sustanability.

About the Authors

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Transforming Saskatchewans Electrical Future

Sustainability is Achievable,

But How Do We Get There?

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meeting the needs

of future generations to meet their own needs

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Fossil Fuel Consumption

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we

more interesting challenges for Saskatchewans

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-1000 0 1000 2000 3000 4000

year


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Climate Change (Man Made) and the Need for Urgent Action

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a rise in sea level

Because the latest research shows

changes in regional temperature and precipi-

tation levels

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changes in the frequencies, intensities and

locations of climate extremes

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22 There

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deleterious effects on local ecosystems. If

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Exceeding the Tipping Points

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if greenhouse gas concentrations hit the sort of

They can only be avoided by moving quickly

to implement a major reduction in world-

wide greenhouse gas emissions.

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current emission trends would see an increase

If

the worlds leading climatologists are correct

and the reasons so far put forward for doubt-

ing them are flimsy at best the situation is

urgent.

Climate Change (Man Made) and the Need for Urgent Action continued


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How Can We Begin GreeningSaskatchewans Grid?

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29

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We should try to use electricity more effi-

ciently.

We should try to reduce transmission line

losses whenever possible. In Saskatchewan

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we should try to phase out coal fired

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Both these sources

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the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions

Proportions of Power Generated,

by Fuel, 2008

Proportions of GHGs Emitted

from Electrical Generation, 2008

coal

55.7%

gas

18.6%

hydro

19.7%

wind

2.8%

imports

2.9%

other

0.4%

coal

89.4%

gas

10.3%

hydro

0.3%

wind

0.0%

imports

0.0%

other

0.0%


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electricity generation as quickly as possible,

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We should develop a mix of renewable

energy sources that will complement each

other -

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Rough Comparison of per-kWh Generation Costs: Renewable and Non-renewable Options in Saskatchewan

A further explanation of this data is provided on page 17.


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In the

We suggest our first priority should be to invest

in at least 300MW of electricity efficiency. In

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In these

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A second set of green megawatts could be

created in northern Saskatchewan through the

development of low impact hydroelectricity.

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A third option is a combination of expanded

wind power complemented by hydro includ-

ing imported hydro from Manitoba.

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of which at


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If

transmission grid and the cost and nature of

A fourth component in a renewable electricity

mix for Saskatchewan is biomass. This can take

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A fifth future opportunity to meet electricity

needs from renewable energy is solar photo-

voltaic systems.


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should ensure that all electricians graduating

and logistical routes to take and whether the

Rough Comparison of per-kWh Greenhouse Gas Emissions:

Renewable and Non-renewable Options in Saskatchewan

A further explanation of this data is provided on page 17.


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Endnotes

The impact

of renewable energy policy on economic

growth and employment in the European

Union

http://

ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/studies/doc/

renewables/2009_employ_res_summary.pdf

Job and economic development

impact (JEDI) model: a user-friendly tool to

calculate economic impacts from wind pro-jects.

http://

www.nrel.gov/docs/fy04osti/35953.pdf

Small Packages, Big Benefits: economic

advantages of local wind projects.

http://www.

iowapolicyproject.org/2005docs/050405-

wind.pdf

Response to the Report

from King Juan

Carlos University (Spain)-

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/46261.pdf

Comparing

Statewide Economic Impacts of New Genera-

tion from Wind, Coal, and Natural Gas in

Arizona, Colorado, and Michigan. National

-

Our Common Future.

National

Inventory Report 1990-2006: Greenhouse Gas

Sources and Sinks in Canada the Canadian

governments submission to the UN frame-

work convention on climate change.

online at www.ec.gc.ca/ghg

Putting

Renewables to Work how many jobs can

the clean energy industry generate?-

http://rael.berkeley.edu/

sites/default/files/very-old-site/renewables.

jobs.2006.pdf

Green Jobs its

time to build Albertas future

http://www.afl.org/upload/GreenJobsReport2009.pdf


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at http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy06osti/37720.

pdf

Denmark: Wind Leader inStandbyhttp://www.

maegaard.net/pdf_files/Article%20for%20

European%20Sustainable%20Energy%20

_2_5.pdf

Neues

Denken, Neue Energie

http://www.bmu.de/energieeffizienz-

from the communicating author of this

-

Renewable

Energy Sources in Figures.

at http://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/files/

english/renewable_energy/downloads/applica-

tion/pdf/broschuere_ee_zahlen_en_bf.pdf

Zero Carbon Britain-

http://

www.zerocarbonbritain.org/

A Renewable

Energy System for the UK

http://www.

cbes.ucl.ac.uk/projects/EnergyReview.htm

Energy regulatory chief

says new coal, nuclear plants may be unneces-

saryhttp://www.nytimes.com/

gwire/2009/04/22/22greenwire-no-need-to-

build-new-us-coal-or-nuclear-plants-10630.

html

Plugging Ontario

into a Green Future: a Renewable Is Doable

action plan

http://ontario.pembina.org

Greening

the Grid: powering Albertas future with

renewable energy

http://

alberta.pembina.org

Summary

for Policy Makers. In Climate Change 2007:

The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of

Working Group 1 to the Fourth Assessment

Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change

Global

Warming the complete briefing

Six

Degrees our future on a hotter planet


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Keeping Our Cool

Canada in a warming world

Toronto

Two Degrees,

One Chance-

http://www.tearfund.org/

webdocs/website/Campaigning/Policy%20

and%20research/Two_degrees_One_chance_

final.pdf

Up in

Smokehttp://www.

neweconomics.org/gen/z_sys_publications.

aspx

-

http://www.skepticalscience.com/

argument.phphttp://www.realclimate.org/

and http://climateprogress.org

http://www.youtube.com/

view_play_list?p=029130BFDC78FA33

The Copenhagen Diag-

nosis 2009 Updating the World on the

Latest Climate Science

-

http://www.ccrc.unsw.edu.au/Copenhagen/Copenhagen_Diagnosis_HIGH.

pdf

Climate Change 2007: Impacts,

Adaptation and Vulnerability: Contribution of

Working Group 2 to the Fourth Assessment

Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change

Summary for Policymakers

op cit

Summary for Policymakers

ibid

Trends in

Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (Recent MaunaLoa CO2)-

http://www.esrl.

noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/

-

Target

Atmospheric CO2: Where Should Humanity

Aim?

http://arxiv.org/

pdf/0804.1126v3Target Atmospheric

CO2: Supporting Material

http://arxiv.

org/pdf/0804.1135v3


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op cit

2008 Environment Report

http://www.saskpower.com/environment/

report/2008/pdf/2009complete.pdf

29 ibid

ibid

ibid

SaskPower Eneraction willhelp customers save money and the environ-

ment

release

op cit

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Energy Efficiency Californias Highest

Priority Resource: lowering energy costs,

promoting economic growth and protecting

the environment

SaskPower leading the

way in wind generation

Saskatchewan news release

Six Ways of Providing

Base Load Power from Wind

at http://www.canrea.ca/site/wp-content/

uploads/2009/03/canrea-six-ways-of-

providing-base-load-power-from-wind-feb09.

pdf

2 area of the inland southwest

Supplying

Baseload Power and Reducing Transmission

Requirements by Interconnecting Wind Farms

http://www.

stanford.edu/group/efmh/winds/aj07_jam.pdf

Wind Power to Combat Climate Change

http://www.e-pages.dk/

energinet/126/

Spanish wind power capacity

reaches 18GW in 2009

at http://www.rechargenews.com/energy/

wind/article202124.ece


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Environmental Report

2009

on) at http://www.energinet.dk/NR/

rdonlyres/E46D998A-7477-4D6B-B2E0-

D5F2071A466B/0/Environmentalreport2009.

pdf

Saskatchewans electricity environment

What is its potential as a supply option in

SaskPowers system?http://www.

saskpower.com/future_power/supply_options/

biomass.shtml

-

Towards a Sustainable Energy Strategy in

Saskatchewan

http://www.environmentalsociety.

ca/energy_report.pdf

Levelized Cost of Energy

Analysis, Version 3.0

http://blog.cleanenergy.org/files/2009/04/

lazard2009_levelizedcostofenergy.pdf

Ontario

launches comprehensive system of feed-in

tariffs: first system of advanced renew-

able tariffs in North America

http://wind-works.org/FeedLaws/Canada/

OntarioLaunchesSystemofFeed-inTariffs.html

http://wind-works.org/FeedLaws/Canada/

OPA%20GEA%20Summary%20AGA%20

Metis%20Youth%20Forum%20presentation.pdf


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Endnotes to Graphs

large2 wind as windfarms

large2 from small2

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the greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear

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take account of the increased use of fossil

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