Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Enbridge’s open house for the Weyburn Seven Stars Energy wind project. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
At the Dec. 11 open house for the Seven Stars Energy Project, proponent Enbridge laid out updates for its planned 200 megawatt wind farm to be located just east of Weyburn. You can read Part 1 about the open house here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here.
Acreages
Kim Brady, who had called the room to order during the July open house, said, “I think you could read the room. We’re not happy. Why would you build a project this close with this many people? First of all, we all moved to the country on acreages and farms to have a way of life, and now that’s going to be impacted. Who’s going to pay for my property debt?
“Who’s going to pay for that loss? You know, I’ve worked my whole life in the oil gas industry, and when I go to sell it, who’s going to want to live there?
“And I know, and I know you guys can’t say that my property value will go down or go up for whatever, but who’s going to want to live there? Like, why would you guys not get your due diligence?
Kim Brady, left, and Andria Brady, right. Both asked questions during the open house. Photo by Brian Zinchuk.
“(Inadubible) bought a project right beside Weyburn, all these acreages, and all this population, but good God. You guys are a good company, I mean, and I appreciate what you’re doing, but it’s bad. If you could read the room, what happened with the RM of Weyburn and their council, and how it’s been changed. And I would think it’s not done changing yet, I think you could realize that majority of people voted the other people out. So the people have spoken,” he said to applause.
Sam Munckhof-Swain, Director, Community Partnerships with Enbridge, responded, “We can absolutely read this room, right? But what I will say is that there’s many people across this region who are in favor of this project. Some of them are here today, right? And (it is) pretty intimidating to stand up.”
“The one guy left,” Brady said.
Munckhof-Swain continued, “There’s more than one.
“So listen, it is very challenging, right? When there is a lot of passion in this room, in opposition, to stand up and say that you support a project.
- 0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click
- 0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001
“So what I want to share, and I think you know this, but to the broader message that there is a lot of support for this because of the value that these projects, this project is going to bring. I’ll get Alex set to rattle off the numbers here.
“But fundamentally, you asked the question, right? Why would we do it? Because we think it’s a good project for the area, right? You may not agree, or you do not agree, but with that statement, but there are a lot of people who have reached out to us and said that, ‘Hey, we want this project. It’s important for my local business. It’s important for the long term tax impact that that’s going to have on our RM.”
Alex McNichol, Director, Power Business Development with Enbridge, said, “We do have community members and those from the RMs, and those from the city, reaching out in support of the project, asking how they can participate, whether it’s with their business, either during the construction of the operation period, and we’ve had some reach out about participating as landowners.
“So, you know, I get it. There’s concern in this room, and then there’s questions. So we’re working through that, incorporating that feedback from it,
- 0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click
- 0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001
“But one of the things that we’ve been starting to communicate more is just the benefits to the community. We’ve got the board at the back, so I won’t bore you with a ton of numbers, but we see a significant benefit during the construction period, just from a local labor content shot, about $75 million of the project spend is with local labor and construction. You got call it 100 jobs on average, 200 peak.
“I’ve been asked tonight if we’re going construct a camp. That’s not something that we would do for this. Those people would be using the local hotels, the local restaurants, the local hospitality industry, and spending in the community. And so those benefits during the construction period, 18 to 24 months, depending on when you get started.
“But we’ve talked about the tax benefits, and that’s back there, is $800,000 of property tax revenue that comes in from the project. But looking more closely, you got about three, call it $3.4 or $4 million a year of annual revenue into the community. So for the project’s life, that’s about $100 million, probably a little bit more than $100 million that comes into the RM and the city through tax revenue, the local jobs, the land lease, and then contracting with a lot of the local businesses around road maintenance, vegetation management, security, things like that. We’ve got a longer list of those benefits. So again, I hear the concerns. We can read the room. But we do have a number of local participants and residents reaching out about the benefits and wanting to participate,” McNichol said.
This area, northeast of Ralph, is where the bulk of the turbines are currently planned. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
One woman asked for examples of economic growth from existing wind facilities.
Munckhof-Swain said there would be about eight full time jobs. The peak will be during construction. And he pointed out Enbridge’s mainline pipeline has been operating in Saskatchewan for 75 years.
He said, “But fundamentally, what we’re what we’re sharing, is that the local benefits there, but we also acknowledge that, you know, money isn’t everything for everyone, and people are going to make their values-based decision based on that. We think that that’s what’s going to grow the economy here in Saskatchewan, and we’re looking to invest hundreds of millions of dollars, here, locally, and you know, we’re excited about that, but also fully acknowledge that that doesn’t drive … everyone, right? So that’s why we’re having these conversations. So thank you for speaking up. I know it’s tough in a big room, but I appreciate that.”
- 0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click
- 0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001
Wildlife
One man asked about impacts on wildlife. “It’s going to kill birds for sure,” he said.
Lillian Knopf, Terrestrial and Wetland Biologist with Natural Resource Solutions Inc., was one of the specialists brought in by Enbridge. She replied, “We have done extensive bird migration and breeding surveys throughout the project area over the last year, and we have seen that there are a lot of birds obviously migrating through the area.
Editor’s note: After three attempts, unfortunately this graphic is still squished. It’s the best I can do.
“One of the things that we will be doing, if the project is approved, post-construction, is a post-construction monitoring program. So that means that there would be staff on site, walking beneath the turbines to see if there are bird fatalities. And we do expect that there will be low levels of bird fatalities at the project. It is inevitable with wind projects, but generally the levels of bird fatalities is quite low.
“So the project would have something called an adaptive management process so that means that at different levels of fatality, various mitigation measures or monitoring programs would kick in. So we would anticipate low levels, but if a high fatality event did occur, or if there were certain sensitive species that were found beneath the turbines, various mitigation measures would apply to the project. So that’s how that can kind of be taken care of, post-construction. Is by using that adaptive management process,” Knopf said.
- 0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click
- 0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001
Referendum
One man asked if municipal ratepayers called for a referendum and the project was voted down, will Enbridge respect it and stop the project, or will they fight it in court?
Munckhof-Swain said, “Our role is to follow the local bylaw guidelines that the RM have put in place. We believe that the project that we have in place right now meets those local bylaws, and so right now we’re planning to move ahead with that, under that auspice of Weyburn and the RM of Weyburn and RM of Griffin have bylaws in place. Our project meets that. We think that there is a lot of benefits for the broader community, and so as long as we meet those bylaws, then we’re looking forward to proceeding with the project.”
He said they will respect local government policies and procedures, noting that there were municipal representatives present.
One woman suggested that first EDF, then Enbridge, had attempted to push limits on numerous fronts, from land acquisition restrictions to setbacks to a 45 metre height restriction. Munckhof-Swain responded that there wasn’t appetite for their initially proposed setbacks, so they revised it to 1,500 metres. As for tower heights, he said they would be asking the RM of Weyburn to amend their current restriction of 45 metres through a normal bylaw amendment. (The land acquisition question turned out to be unrelated to this project, but rather one at Bethune.)
- 0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click
- 0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001
How it came about
Asked how long Enbridge had been involved in the process of buying the project from EDF, McNichol said it was roughly six to nine months before the announcement. He said, “We look at acquisitions all the time. We develop our own projects. We look to acquire projects. It’s really you start at initial screening and looking at where the qualities of the project doesn’t make sense, and if so, we get into more detail. And you’re looking at the overall economic viability of the project, the site suitability, constructability, all the various things that go into it. So, and we would do that in stages over a period of time. So, and then bring a recommendation forward to our leadership.”
Enbridge Line 3 replacement east of Vibank. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
Munckhof-Swain added that Enbridge has already invested billions of dollars into Saskatchewan through its liquids business. “And so, when we were looking to invest in renewables across Canada, one of the things that we wanted to look at is there an option in Saskatchewan? And so, when we looked across, we’ve got a long history here, and we wanted to continue to be a good partner for this province.”
(Editor’s note: updated with several typos corrected)
- 0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click
- 0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001