Photo courtesy of Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry
It would have been the province’s first hydroelectric project built entirely on First Nations land, but the Tazi Twe generating station will likely be put on hold for the foreseeable future or cancelled altogether.
The final decision will be made in August. SaskPower officials visited community leaders in the northeast Saskatchewan community of Black Lake last Thursday to break the news.
SaskPower President, Mike Marsh, says a recent evaluation of power consumption and future needs indicates the extra generating capacity from the Black Lake project is not needed at this time.
“We have to be mindful of not building a project like this too far in advance of needs,” he said. “Because that would not be a prudent investment of our capital dollars, and it would result in rate increases for customers around the province, which we want to avoid until the energy is absolutely needed.”
The mining sector consumes about 80 per cent of the power generated in the north, however, Marsh says the industry is in a down cycle, reducing production, shutting down mines and cutting staff. He says the project may simply no longer be feasible. He felt it was important to share that news face to face with area residents.
“I think the community received the information well,” he said. “There was obviously some disappointment in acknowledging that this may result in the project being deferred or potentially cancelled altogether.”
It would have cost more than $600 million dollars to build the water diversion power plant, and it would have injected $1.3 billion into the local economy over the next 90 years.
Plans had been in the works for the project since 2010, with public meetings in 2013, and a band referendum in 2015, giving the project the go-ahead. The project has already undergone an environmental assessment and was given tentative approval from environmental regulators.
Black Lake is located in northeast Saskatchewan, about 100 kilometres south of the Northwest Territories.