Photo courtesy of environmentalsociety.ca
The Saskatchewan Environmental Society says the more green energy, the better.
The society’s policy coordinator, Hayley Carlson, is disappointed to learn SaskPower is now reconsidering plans to build a $630 million dollar hydro diversion project at Black Lake in northeast Saskatchewan.
Plans for the Tazi Twe generating station have been in the works for more than seven years. The Black Lake First Nation has even set up a corporation to coordinate the development of the plant, which would have been the province’s only power project built entirely on First Nations land. Band members passed two referendums, giving the project the green light. One to provide land for it, the other approving the construction.
Now, it is under review because of a slump in the uranium industry, which has resulted in reduced power demand in the north. Last week, SaskPower President, Mike Marsh and other senior officials travelled to Black Lake, just south of the Northwest Territories, to inform the community the project may not go ahead, it may be delayed or it could proceed as planned. A final decision will be made this summer.
The environmental society’s, Hayley Carlson, says this is not the time to back away from renewable energy.
“We are really for diversifying our electricity production in Saskatchewan,” she said. “Renewable energy resources are a great way to go, especially considering a carbon tax that might be coming down and where the nation and the world is headed on the issue of climate change. We think this (the Tazi Twe project) is a step in the right direction, and is proactive on the part of SaskPower.”
Carlson says another option for the corporation is to boost the rates for industrial users, which she says are currently about half what residential users pay.
SaskPower is evaluating the latest information on the projected need for the project, and will make a recommendation to its board of directors.
A final decision on the future of Tazi Twe is expected in August.