SaskPower Plots To End Drinking Water Availability

Not maintaining availability and quality of drinking water is an option? Cool. Cool, cool, cool.

NOT COOL, @SaskPower. What happens if the slavering hordes decide in the poll that we don't need drinking water?!

CC @CorbLund @JeffWaltersSask @emi_eaton

— Saskboy from Saskatchewan (@saskboy) February 10, 2023

Corb Lund is among the Albertans who’ve had to fight mountaintop mining to maintain drinking water safety for Alberta and Saskatchewan. SaskPower is eager to find a path to creating social acceptance of nuclear power. Nuclear power is costly, and is planned to be delivered too late to address the climate crisis, even before we get to addressing its other serious problems or potential benefits. If they can convince people that it’s not important to maintain drinking water availability, that would aid their goal in promoting water-thirsty nuclear power.

Monopoly utilities conscript beholden ratepayers into partisan fights against the climate and our ecosystem. David Roberts of Dr. Volts podcast discusses the problem from an American perspective. The problem clearly extends well beyond Saskatchewan’s Crown corporation (monopoly) SaskPower. Here, Chris highlights how SaskPower’s utility bill serves as anti-Trudeau and anti-carbon price propaganda for its SaskParty masters:

Since @SaskPower is now collecting carbon tax under the Saskatchewan Output-Based Performance Standards (OBPS) Program why do our power bills still say "Federal Carbon Tax"? Not a single penny leaves the province…. seems shady af.

— Chris Harris (@BigRedYQR) February 8, 2023

A billion $$ surplus and constant talk of a booming economy. Yet the @PremierScottMoe gov decides to massively increase SaskEnergy rates anyway, even though it's unsupported

At least they haven't sunk to blaming the feds for this……oh wait#skpoli https://t.co/Nd5I0nEcYC

— Jeff Walters (@JeffWaltersSask) December 17, 2022

This is not a new problem. Here’s a tweet from 4 years ago about the Sask Government’s Crown utilities interfering in a transition to renewable energy as they fought in court against the price on carbon required by the federal government.

It really bothers me that @SaskPower and @SaskEnergy are intervening in favour of the SK government in this carbon tax case. We need our crowns to lead the way on climate change. They are not subject to the same market logics as private corps #skpoli #canpoli

— @EmilyEaton@mstdn.ca (@emi_eaton) February 13, 2019

BESS Battery project at Regina by SaskPower

Back in February I asked SaskPower how this project was going.

Our Progress So Far

In Fall of 2020, we engaged with neighbouring communities to discuss the proposed BESS plans. We’re now moving to the next phase of the project including project design and procurement. Other milestones include:

• Infrastructure Canada conditional funding received: early 2021
• Procure technology: mid 2021
• Construction: late 2021
• Energization: end of 2022

They replied today noting my email to their public enquiries address had been caught in their spam filter.

They’ve since updated the page as it’s behind schedule, but construction is now intended to begin this season.

Updated for 2022: Civic Hatchback vs LEAF Hatchback

In 2019 I wrote a guide for people to help them decide which vehicle type saved them more money: an affordable used EV with a solar panel grid-tied system, or a used automatic Honda Civic hatchback with similar features. Here’s an update with some more recent figures given that the costs have changed over the years depending on factors like technological improvements, and supply chain shortages.

Now a used 2019 Civic hatchback is priced at $28,990. The base trim includes features like a rearview camera, Bluetooth, a 5-inch display screen, and a USB port.” $35,715 is for a 2022 Civic Sport CVT hatchback at Regina Honda as I write this.

My used Nissan LEAF 2014 (bought 5 years ago), with the same technology features listed above plus rear heated seats, and heated steering wheel (handy in Winter): $15,500. At my old place, I had 8 solar panels which cost $8,400 installed. Together that’s $23,900. Today if you bought a 2015 LEAF on Autotrader it would be $18,000. Assuming a $10,000 solar panel array installed, that’s $28,000.

Now, I’m no financial genius, but a solar powered hatchback that costs $990 less than a new gas burning hatchback that also needs 2 oil changes a year, seems like a better idea.

Doubting sorts might question, can a $10,000, 2.5kW solar array really power a Nissan LEAF. That’s a great question! The answer is complicated. The short answer is yes!

Using a Bluetooth OBDII car-computer reading gizmo to read the LEAF’s battery status with my phone and the app Leaf Spy Lite, it reveals the car’s battery has 20kWh of capacity, down from its brand new 24kWh selling point.

Using the Solar Edge website, I was able to determine that my solar array in March would typically produce more than 10kWh per day. That electricity is instantly used in the house, the EV if plugged in to charge, and the excess goes into the grid. The power company, SaskPower, no longer provides a 1-for-1 credit for the electricity provided vs. taken from their grid in a set year. In 2019 SaskPower ended Net Metering and started Net Billing. There’s now a 0.5-for-1 credit instead. It is still economical to get solar to offset an EV use. You’re not paying for gas, and can include the expense of the solar array in your vehicle’s operating budget.

My household tends to charge our LEAF to 100% overnight on the the Level 2 fast charger, and use it to about 50% capacity during the following day. That means it needs ~10kWh put back into it at night.  Astute readers will note that’s about how much power the 2.5kW solar array produces during the day. The LEAF doesn’t need gasoline, or oil changes. You can “fill” it at home on a regular wall plug, or a more convenient Level 2 charger.

Why are people still buying new Civics as a town car? If they routinely travel more than 100km in the city in a day, or 70km at top highway speeds, the Civic might be more appealing, but it’s obviously more expensive and harder on your lungs and our planet’s living systems.

Now, if you want to save even more money, and save more creatures, I have another tip for you:

Buy an ebike or etrike instead of an EV, if you’re using it for in-town travel. Your cost to recharge an ebike is about 2 cents. That’s not a typo, it’s really only two cents to charge an ebike battery to travel up to 50km. And they’re more fun than any car.

SaskPower: A Job Half Done

…is as good as none.

If you’re impressed by SaskPower’s objective to reduce emissions by only half, by 2030, you’re setting the bar way too low. A big reason Saskatchewan is among the world’s worst per-capita polluters is because our electricity is a large lignite coal and fossil/natural gas component. The electricity utility crown corp has been testing solar since at least Y2K when it installed panels on the Sask. Science Centre, yet 22 years later it still has drivel like this on its website:

The federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault says the latest IPCC report from the UN is “sobering”, and fossil fuel companies “cannot do business as usual”, but SaskPower is sticking with its goal from half a decade ago, while it’s actually lost ground on its aim to be 50% renewable, and only “40% less emitting by 2030”. Despite putting a new 200MW wind farm online near Assiniboia, and adding a little 10MW utility solar to the mix soon, it’s added or is adding over 700MW of fossil fuel generating power since 2019.

““Right now, SaskPower is on track to reduce our carbon emissions more than 50 per cent below our 2005 levels by 2030 and we’re looking to get to net-zero emissions by 2050,” Joel Cherry, spokesperson for SaskPower said in an interview Monday.”

I don’t see how that is possible to claim given the numbers I’m seeing. This is not a sprint you want to leave 90% of the work to the last 10 metres.

Yet here’s their homepage claim:

“Renewable Power

IN SASKATCHEWAN

We’re on our way to reducing our emissions by half.
Find out how we’re getting there and the projects underway.”

Hard to believe @SaskPower has a shared vision with people to reduce emissions when their page links to how that's supposed to work are only 404 Not Found errors.https://t.co/9JsiYP2YpP

— Saskboy from Saskatchewan (@saskboy) April 1, 2022

Sidewalk Tax? You Must Jest?

Yes, the www.sidewalktax.ca is a jest, it’s poking fun at the Saskatchewan Governmenet in a way that might pique your interest if you’re just an average driver going about your day. They’re running radio ads, and there’s less than a week remaining in the campaign where they’ll refund the EV tax for Saskatchewan drivers who’ve registered an EV. It’s a bit of a fund raiser for the Sask Environmental Society, and Lung Association of Sask also.

And is the EV tax fair? No, it’s completely unfair. It’s a stab at EV owners who are doing more about the climate crisis than the entire Government of Saskatchewan, which is owned in part by the fossil fuel industry. The math shows the government is collecting a lot more in payments from EV owners than ICE car drivers. Even so, it’s still a better idea to get an EV than a gas-burning car or truck, and saves you money in the long run.

SaskPower’s War On Solar

Today the utility described the home generation of 16MW of solar and wind power as "insignificant." The clear message: solar and solar customers are a problem to be managed. Not an opportunity. 3/3 #RenewableElectricity #skpoli

— David 🇨🇦 Kyle (@DavidKyleSK) June 25, 2021

SaskPower told me last decade that their Y2K test of solar panel technology at the time convinced them there was no utility future for solar. Never mind that the tech was already more than a decade old at that point, and costs had dropped while efficiency of the panels had risen significantly.

Over 4 years ago they promised to build a 10MW array of solar panels. They’ve yet to deliver. Instead, they dealt a body blow to the solar installer industry in the province by cancelling Net Metering and replacing it later with Net Billing. This is in large part to the governing party of Saskatchewan taking corporate donations that would be illegal in the rest of Canada.

The Crown utility has lied about solar technology on Twitter even. They can’t be trusted, and that’s a damn shame, because we could be at a near 100% solar grid by now if we started building 6 years ago like I and others proposed.

Saskatchewan Party Produces Pollution

Back in 2012, there was a problem:

Provincial water too polluted, says research

Back then, the SaskParty was promising to address climate change with a plan that included a 20% emissions cut below 2006 pollution levels, by last year, 2020. They soon deleted that target.

Then this happened, and continues to happen:

Sask. leads country in per capita greenhouse gas emissions

“Provincial environment minister says climate plan needs time to work”

No! It doesn’t. When we give the SaskParty time for their plans to work, they make emissions worse, not better. And they promote their failed Environment Ministers to party leader too.

Other jurisdictions are too Canadian/polite to give us the F grade our Petrostate deserves.

https://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/provincial/environment/ghg-emissions.aspx

Co-op Refinery VOC emissions 10x higher than average of other refineries

Sour gas emissions at refinery ‘problematically high’ says expert

That’s from back in 2015, and my understanding is that it’s been addressed to some degree. For the latest be sure to follow an expert like Prof. Eaton.

My new article: #EnergyTransition 3D (democratization, decolonization and decarbonization) approach https://t.co/4vjjyYjeSY

— Emily Eaton (@emi_eaton) January 27, 2021

Silly Saskatchewan Party

EVs are not getting a free ride on the roads.

A look through Saskatchewan budget documents shows clearly that the amounts spent annually to maintain highways far exceed what’s collected through the fuel tax on gasoline, diesel and propane that are earmarked for highway building and upkeep. For instance, Harpauer’s 2021-22 budget projects spending $830 million on highways, while the fuel tax is expected to raise $477.9 million.

In fact, from 2008 to 2022, fuel tax revenues total $6.8 billion, while $10.6 billion is spent on highways. 

opinion/columnists/peiris-saskatchewans-new-tax-on-electric-vehicles-a-sign-of-more-silliness-to-come

Link broken on purpose.

Saskatchewan Quietly Cut Funding For Provincial Office in Charge of Climate Change Policy

The Sask Party doesn’t care about the climate crisis.

I Was Worried For a Moment

When I saw Google/Pocket recommending this article on batteries for the grid, I was a bit concerned. It was contrary to what I understood to be the truth, so I read a bit to get a sense if it was new information. It turned out to be 4-2 year old information, and seems to favour fossil fuels and nuclear. It’s safe to discount as FUD, at this point.

“This article was originally published on July 27, 2018, by MIT Technology Review, and is republished here with permission.”

Fluctuating solar and wind power require lots of energy storage, and lithium-ion batteries seem like the obvious choice—but they are far too expensive to play a major role.

MIT Technology Review |

• James Temple

It’s simply old information. Obsolete.
A coworker last night sent me this story about batteries as a huge success on the grid.
Yes, a peaker battery isn’t the same as 100% battery, but no one is saying that the entire supply should rely on only batteries.

Battery prices are falling at a pace of 22% per year for the last decade. Imagine what they’ll cost in 2022, in only 2 more years?

SaskPower Cancels Solar Power in Saskatchewan

SaskPower has yet to build a mere Megawatt of solarpower, but has now canceled the ability of solar installers to accept new work in the province. They went way farther than the cancellation of the rebate I warned readers about back in June. The Net Metering program has allowed hundreds of people to add more renewable solar power to our grid than the inept, anti-solar Crown Corporation ever has.

Not to brag, but I produce more solar power than SaskPower. I also out-produce the City of Regina after they’ve been studying the idea of producing solar power for over 2 years. I make more electricity from the sun than the climate-denying Government of Saskatchewan does on its  buildings in the capital city of Regina. Regina, by the way, ranks in the top 10 cities in the world for solar power potential. And I make more than Ralph Goodale and Catherine McKenna’s green-friendly Liberal Government of Canada does on its buildings in Regina too. In short, they all suck, and I don’t suck as much.

People who shouldn’t be making the big decisions, are. The people need to stop electing boneheads who couldn’t pass a Grade 10 science class to save their lives. It would help if we’d make it illegal for elected parties to take money from oil companies too.

Speak up and let your neighbour, or friend, or co-worker know that you’re aware they don’t want to hear your political opinion, but you’re scared if things devolve any further you’ll have beef force fed to you by roving gangs of insane cattle ranchers dressed all in Green and White soon.

We spent $1.6B at Bounday Dam to make 120MW of energy, but Power won’t pay $54M to make 16MW of energy per year? We’ll pay $160M (and climbing) per year for the next decade for BD3, but $54M for solar and for good, construction jobs is unsustainable? https://t.co/KABhXOViFE

— Aleana Young (@AleanaYoung) September 20, 2019

“I cannot wrap my head around this.” – Young

When a political decision makes no sense, like shutting down solar in Saskatchewan, you can assume it’s either due to incompetence, or due to corruption. And we’ve already confirmed that political parties take money from oil companies in Saskatchewan, and  oppose sensible actions to combat the climate crisis.