ober and early November on the hot seat with the NDP opposition questioning the Boundary Dam Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage Project, the Saskatchewan Party鈥檚 signature initiative on climate change. In the midst of this, Wall was in Estevan on Oct. 29 for a roast for retiring Estevan MLA Doreen Eagles. There Wall spoke to reporters about the Boundary Dam project.
The premier does not think the issues surrounding the Boundary Dam Unit 3 (BD3) carbon capture project will affect Saskatchewan鈥檚 standing on the world stage. He noted SaskPower鈥檚 been pretty clear that in a commissioning year, whether it鈥檚 a carbon capture unit or a gas plant, you鈥檙e going to have ramp-ups and ramp-downs and adjustments to makes.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 exactly what鈥檚 been happening,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t could be in a couple weeks, that the challenges have been met. It could well be that further adjustments are needed as well.鈥�
鈥淗ere鈥檚 the good news. This is what鈥檚 positive, for the world. Ninety per cent capture is exactly what it鈥檚 doing. CO2 moves through the amine technology, and it works. It works at the scaled up level. That鈥檚 why the world鈥檚 been interested and, I think, will stay interested. In fact, we鈥檝e been fielding inquiries through all of this.鈥�
Asked if SNC-Lavalin, the prime contractor, should be held responsible, Wall said, 鈥淭hey are, absolutely. They must.
鈥淭hrough the warrantee agreements we have and legal action, we鈥檙e going to be recovering all the money that we think is owed by the consultants to get it right.鈥�
Wall used the example of Saskatchewan鈥檚 other big science project in recent years, the Canada Light Source, or synchrotron, at the University of Saskatchewan. 鈥淚n 2003 鈥� the NDP government unveiled it. People were concerned. For the first three months, nothing worked. You鈥檙e going to have a year of difficulty with major projects. And now, it鈥檚 an outstanding asset and a great facility. In fact, we鈥檝e added to it, with a Cyclotron and PET scan and other things, as part of the nuclear centre we鈥檝e put up there.
鈥淭his project (BD3) has actually achieved the 90 per cent capture, and we鈥檝e sold 400,000 tonnes for capture and sequestration and enhanced oil recovery, first. So we鈥檙e actually going to turn a small profit on this, SaskPower is, this year. That鈥檚 basically a year later. I鈥檓 pretty happy about that. I鈥檓 very happy about that. We鈥檙e going to get back what we need to get back from SNC-Lavalin,鈥� Wall said.
In the feisty question periods in the Legislature on the subject had Wall countering NDP Leader Cam Broten by demanding to know where the opposition leader stood on continued coal-fired power production in Saskatchewan.
Wall said, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 really have a choice but to make this work. Well, maybe we do have a choice. That鈥檚 what the debate was about. We鈥檙e going to make sure this technology works, and continues to work as it is, and can perhaps be applied to (Boundary Dam Units) 4 and 5. Because if we don鈥檛, we鈥檝e seen the coal regs from the federal government. We don鈥檛 know what the new federal government might do. If we don鈥檛 apply this world-leading technology and clean up coal, we鈥檒l have to shut it down. That鈥檚 500 jobs, and a lot of contractors at the power plant itself, and another 400 mining coal, and a lost opportunity to sell this technology to other countries in the world that are going to keep burning coal, period, like India and China.鈥�
Wall said he couldn鈥檛 get an answer out of Broten (as reflected by the debate transcripts in Hansard). He asked what the provincial NDP鈥檚 position is on coal, since Alberta鈥檚 NDP government has said they would phase out coal.
鈥淚f that鈥檚 the NDP plan here, fair enough, we鈥檒l have a debate. But they should be letting folks know, especially here, in Estevan.鈥�
Much of the NDP鈥檚 line of questioning had been around the aggregate amount of carbon dioxide captured 鈥� 400,000 tonnes in the first year of operation, and trying to square that with Wall鈥檚, and SaskPower鈥檚, assertions the plant captures 90 per cent of the CO2 passing through it. (SaskPower had initially projected the plant would capture one million tonnes per year of carbon dioxide.)
Asked about the differences between the instantaneous and aggregate capture numbers, Wall said, 鈥淲hen the plant is shut down, it鈥檚 not capturing any CO2. It gets shut down for these adjustments. (Then) the facilities is turned on and it hits 90 per cent carbon capture, then the engineers notice some things about efficiency and capacity, and they bring it down and make adjustments. When we were down with the (United States) senators, there was no capture going on. So to have that happen throughout the year, and still capture 400,000 tonnes of CO2, successfully, and sold it, for a small profit, it good news.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e applying the cumulative number to a moment in time. It鈥檚 a specious argument. It鈥檚 just not true. It鈥檚 capturing 90 per cent when it鈥檚 on, when the technology鈥檚 working, but it鈥檚 been down for adjustments. 鈥�
Wall added similar issues happen with a combined cycle natural gas power plant starts operation. 鈥淭his one, there鈥檚 a greater likelihood of that, because there鈥檚 nothing like it on earth. This is the first one. When you step out, and I would call it technological leadership by SaskPower, as the province as done, you鈥檙e going to have issues. I think the people of Estevan and area need to know this technology is capturing at 90 per cent, what we tell the world is true, and proof is in the pudding.鈥�
He added the plant was expected to go online again in early November, and it did.
Wall noted there鈥檚 ongoing interest from southeast Asia in the project. 鈥淏ut even if the only purpose of Boundary Dam 3 was to make sure we can keep coal in the mix, as and affordable mix that keeps coal and wind and natural gas and renewables 鈥� if this technology allows us to keep coal in the mix, it鈥檚 pretty important. We鈥檝e got 400 years of this stuff.鈥�
Wall, along with other provincial premiers, was invited to be part of the Canadian delegation to the COP21 United Nations Conference on Climate Change which will run from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 in Paris.
Carbon capture technology will be presented in the 鈥渢echnology week鈥� before world leaders gather, he noted. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of interest in having Boundary Dam 3 there and SaskPower will be there,鈥� Wall said.
鈥淢y job is to defend the interests of the province of Saskatchewan. What I mean by that is we鈥檝e said to the previous and current federal governments we need to do more in terms of emissions. We need to do that in Saskatchewan. But let鈥檚 be careful to balance some of the economic considerations, especially in the West. Right now, the West is suffering from US$45 West Texas. We鈥檙e suffering from oil prices and we see layoffs. We can鈥檛 sign onto anything that鈥檚 going to 鈥榢neecap鈥� the economy. The economy鈥檚 what鈥檚 going to pay for various environmental measures.
鈥淚 think I鈥檒l be suggesting that we all remember that Canada鈥檚 responsible for about two-and-a-half per cent of the world鈥檚 emissions, and we need to do more. Our province has a high per capita level of emissions. But we need to remember if China鈥檚 building coal plants, one every 13 days, and India has about 540 coal plants on the books to build, we need to focus on this technology at Boundary Dam 3. Canada should focus on technological solutions, not simply carbon taxes or cap and trade.
鈥淲e also won鈥檛 be signing on with any cap-and-trade, if it鈥檚 proposed. Some provinces are looking at Ontario and Quebec鈥檚 model. We鈥檙e not. We need to do something about emissions, and that鈥檚 the technological solution,鈥� Wall concluded.
