Does anyone trust the Sask Party to run Sask Power? First it was $900 million to refurbish the coal plants, now the real number is $2.6 billion and likely to go up!
They were on track to build more gas plants which are much cleaner. But now they want to revive old coal plants that will leave us dependent on the dirtiest energy possible? If you put a price on industrial carbon which we have, coal loses every time.
And then they have this dream of building small and large nuclear reactors which we have no estimate of cost on.
Nuclear is the most expensive option possible according to LCOE analysis. Especially in this very small electricity market.
And they could ramp up more gas and renewables quicker and cheaper but no they lock us in to 18th century coal and a risky and very expensive nuclear option that may never happen!
Texas and North Dakota both have a lot more renewables. Why because the business case for renewables is good! But in Saskatchewan Moe criticizes Avi Lewis for wanting more state control but then uses his state controlled Sask Power to impose coal and nuclear on us when there are better cheaper options!
The irony and sewage runs deep in Saskatchewan run by the Sask Party!
"Documents from SaskPower filed with the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel show external consultants estimate it will cost $2.6 billion to refurbish Saskatchewan's coal-burning facilities.
That's nearly three times the previous estimate of $900 million Crown Investments Corporation Minister Jeremy Harrison gave in a media interview nine months ago.
The province maintains that keeping Saskatchewan's aging power plants going until 2050 is the affordable option to transition to nuclear power without building new infrastructure that complies with federal carbon regulations."
Some Saskatchewan industry leaders, and at least one policy expert, are questioning how affordable that decision really is.
By sticking with coal past 2030, the province is setting itself up for a fight with Ottawa by violating three different federal climate change policies, potentially jeopardizing its regulatory and investment climate and escalating the costs of electricity down the line, said Brett Dolter, an associate professor of economics at the University of Regina, who specializes in climate change and electricity policy in Saskatchewan.
"It is a big gamble," he said.
"We're in this uncharted territory of real lawlessness in Saskatchewan where we're not planning to follow constitutionally valid policies like carbon pricing."
The province is also challenging coal-fired regulations, first introduced in 2012 under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and ignoring clean electricity regulations that would require Saskatchewan to clean up its natural gas power plants, Dolter said. "
They were on track to build more gas plants which are much cleaner. But now they want to revive old coal plants that will leave us dependent on the dirtiest energy possible? If you put a price on industrial carbon which we have, coal loses every time.
And then they have this dream of building small and large nuclear reactors which we have no estimate of cost on.
Nuclear is the most expensive option possible according to LCOE analysis. Especially in this very small electricity market.
And they could ramp up more gas and renewables quicker and cheaper but no they lock us in to 18th century coal and a risky and very expensive nuclear option that may never happen!
Texas and North Dakota both have a lot more renewables. Why because the business case for renewables is good! But in Saskatchewan Moe criticizes Avi Lewis for wanting more state control but then uses his state controlled Sask Power to impose coal and nuclear on us when there are better cheaper options!
The irony and sewage runs deep in Saskatchewan run by the Sask Party!
"Documents from SaskPower filed with the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel show external consultants estimate it will cost $2.6 billion to refurbish Saskatchewan's coal-burning facilities.
That's nearly three times the previous estimate of $900 million Crown Investments Corporation Minister Jeremy Harrison gave in a media interview nine months ago.
The province maintains that keeping Saskatchewan's aging power plants going until 2050 is the affordable option to transition to nuclear power without building new infrastructure that complies with federal carbon regulations."
Some Saskatchewan industry leaders, and at least one policy expert, are questioning how affordable that decision really is.
By sticking with coal past 2030, the province is setting itself up for a fight with Ottawa by violating three different federal climate change policies, potentially jeopardizing its regulatory and investment climate and escalating the costs of electricity down the line, said Brett Dolter, an associate professor of economics at the University of Regina, who specializes in climate change and electricity policy in Saskatchewan.
"It is a big gamble," he said.
"We're in this uncharted territory of real lawlessness in Saskatchewan where we're not planning to follow constitutionally valid policies like carbon pricing."
The province is also challenging coal-fired regulations, first introduced in 2012 under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and ignoring clean electricity regulations that would require Saskatchewan to clean up its natural gas power plants, Dolter said. "
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