Chamber Members Told Final Decision On Power Plant Months Away

Is the proposed natural gas electrical generating station a definite go or not is something yet to be decided.

In an update from SaskPower to members of the Moose Jaw and District Chamber of Commerce the Crown utility provides an update on the project status and says it still could be cancelled.

In the update SaskPower says the are still examining the impact of new regulations bought forward by the federal government on June 28, 2019. Those regulations would apply to the proposed Moose Jaw project.

The regulations would mean carbon dioxide emitted by burning natural gas to fire the generators in Moose Jaw would be subject to the federal Carbon Tax.

Despite the potential cancellation of the project SaskPower advises in the update they are still working with local stakeholders until a final decision has been made.

Additionally a decision has been received that a federal environmental assessment is not required for the proposed project.

At present the carbon tax is $20 per tonne but will rachet up by $10 each year to $50 per tonne in 2022. Due to this increase SaskPower is expecting to pay $500 million as a result by 2022.

The proposed plant for Moose Jaw was to be a combined cycle plant which recaptures waste heat and uses it to generate more power. A combined cycle plant is listed as 50 percent more energy efficient than a conventional simple cycle plant which does not recapture “waste” heat.

The proposed plant was announced for Moose Jaw in December 2018. SaskPower was to buy 110 acres directly north of the sewage treatment plant for $614,992. SaskPower would be responsible for infrastructure to the proposed plant worth an estimated $700 million. The plant would employ 600 people during construction and 25 jobs would be created to run and maintain the plant once it became operational.

The full text of the document is below:

The Status Update provided to Chamber members