MOOSE JAW — After nearly four years of construction, SaskPower officially opened its 370-megawatt Great Plains Power Station (GPPS), with the new plant expected to power nearly 370,000 additional homes in the province.
Orange-clad SaskPower employees joined local and provincial dignitaries on Dec. 17 to celebrate the venue’s opening, which officially began operating the night before. The 43.2-hectare (108.13-acre) site is a combined cycle plant that is powered by natural gas and steam generators and has an expected lifecycle of 25 years.
“This is a momentous day for the City of Moose Jaw,” Mayor James Murdock told the Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com, highlighting how 45 months of construction was finally finished.
The fact SaskPower constructed the plant in the region shows that it wanted to have a presence and be part of the community, while the building was essentially now a landmark, he continued.
Murdock commended previous city councils for having the vision to develop the agri-food industrial park close to the city. That proximity likely benefited the more than 600 tradesmen who helped build the plant during peak construction in July 2023 since they would have had a short — but safe — commute.
Before the ceremony began, SaskPower confirmed to the Express that the power plant is the main anchor tenant in the agri-food industrial park. When asked about that, Murdock said he foresaw future activity happening in that area based on ongoing conversations with developers.
“When you see a large entity like SaskPower say that (its) presence is here, that gets other companies’ attention. And I think there could be some spinoffs here,” he continued, adding wryly that he couldn’t yet reveal what was happening there.
Tim McLeod, MLA for Moose Jaw North and minister of justice and attorney general and minister of corrections and public safety, said he was thrilled with the plant’s opening.
“It’s an exciting day. Having a facility like this in our backyard here in Moose Jaw certainly means a lot to us,” he said. “But, having another 370 megawatts (MW) of reliable baseload power for the province is (also) a big deal.”
McLeod reiterated the provincial government’s position that it was more concerned with providing reliable and affordable power than meeting any federally regulated environmental targets. He noted that the Sask. Party would continue to deliver results and take responsible actions while looking out for residents’ best interests.
Meanwhile, the provincial government’s population growth target for 2030 is 1.4 million people, and it is progressing toward that number since the current population is 1.23 million, he added. Therefore, the Sask. Party’s goal is to diversify its power sources and ensure it has plenty of power generation for the future — which the GPPS should provide until 2050.
Rupen Pandya, president/CEO of SaskPower, was also excited since “it is not every day” that the corporation commissioned a brand-new venue that would provide reliable baseload power.
The plant’s energy production will provide power across Saskatchewan and contribute to the grid’s total output of 5,400 megawatts while supporting a more resilient grid, he said. Furthermore, the Crown corporation’s strategy is to use a mix of power-generating assets, such as wind, solar, oil and gas, which also mitigates cost increases in some assets.
“… we at SaskPower hedge the price of natural gas, so we afford contracts in gas, and we try to ensure that we are stabilizing the price of gas at an acceptable price,” Pandya remarked.
Using natural gas is critical to help SaskPower transition away from coal as it moves toward the 2050s, considering it is committed to decarbonizing its electricity sources within 26 years, he said. Moreover, using that fuel also enables SaskPower to integrate renewables such as wind and solar.
The president/CEO noted that SaskPower expects baseload power to reach 13,000 MW and 15,000 MW by 2050, which means it must look at other sources of “dispatchable” power that can address the province’s needs. Therefore, depending upon the circumstances, it may look at constructing more than one nuclear-related small modular reactor to enhance that power mix.
Pandya praised Moose Jaw — including past mayors and councils — for being “an incredible community” partner with which to work during the past four years. SaskPower was “thrilled to be part” of the community and that so many tradespeople contributed to the plant’s construction; 14 per cent of the workforce was from The Friendly City.
“This is an important location for a power plant. It’s on our major transmission grids connecting the Chinook Power Station (in Swift Current) west-east across the province of Saskatchewan,” he added. “This contributes power directly into the grid going both east-west and north.”
Darcy Wagner, managing director with Burns and McDonnell, the main project contractor, told the crowd that the company “was deeply committed” to safety during construction, which resulted in zero lost-time injuries. Moreover, it constructed the plant during the coronavirus pandemic and overcame those obstacles — and more — to deliver the plant on time.
“I’m grateful for this partnership and what it’s achieved so far … ,” he added. “It’s a privilege to work together, and we look forward to the next chapter of innovation and success.”
