Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Alberta graciously provides its neighbours with free power, again, as wind generation sees high output
Wind turbines at Greenfell, Sask. on Jan. 9 were spinning hard with strong winds that day. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
Some days, the wind does indeed blow hard, and grid-scale wind power generation hits some of its higher numbers.
That happened in Saskatchewan on Jan. 7 and again on Jan. 11. On Jan. 7, wind output was 651 megawatts averaged over 24 hours out of a nameplate capacity of 817 megawatts. That’s 79.7 per cent capacity, according to SaskPower’s Where Your Power Comes From webpage, and as logged by X account @SkElectricity. On that day, wind accounted for 20 per cent of Saskatchewan’s power generation. Hydro was nine per cent with 296 megawatts average. Natural gas was 46 per cent with 1,532 megawatts. Coal averaged 25 per cent of power generated with 827 megawatts. Solar was negligible at three megawatts and “other” was also negligible at -5 megawatts.
On Jan. 11, the numbers were even better for wind. Grid-scale wind produced a 24 hour average of 680 megawatts, for a capacity of 83.2 per cent. These are some of the higher numbers Pipeline Online has seen for wind in Saskatchewan. A year ago, wind hit 89 per cent output in Saskatchewan on Jan. 24, and then high 90.5 per cent on Jan. 28. Those were part of an eight-day high wind-output streak. Five days in a row last January, the output averaged between 87.8 per cent and 90.5 per cent.
Hydro was nine per cent at 298 megawatts on Jan. 11, 2026. Natural as was 44 per cent at 1,403 megawatts, and coal was 22 per cent at 692 megawatts. Solar was negligible at 4 megawatts, while “other” was four per cent at 139 megawatts. The average total power generated over the day was 3,214 megawatts.
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MC is maximum capacity, in megawatts. TNG is total net to grid. DCR is dispatched, and accepted, contingency reserve. This was at 1:36 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. AESO
Free power for Saskatchewan, courtesy Alberta wind
Alberta saw high wind numbers on Jan. 12 going into Jan. 13. At 1:36 a.m. MST, Alberta’s 50 wind farms were producing 4,117 megawatts of out a capacity of 5,684 megawatts. That’s 72.4 per cent for the fleet of 1,760 wind turbines, according to data from the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO).
(Note: Saskatchewan’s numbers are 24 hour averages, while Alberta’s are minute-by-minute instantaneous numbers. The difference is Alberta produces over 23,000x more data points per day available to the public than Saskatchewan does. Also, Saskatchewan wind and solar independent power producers only get paid by SaskPower when they produce power.)
As frequently happens when wind output exceeds 50 per cent capacity, and especially when it exceeds 70 per cent capacity, the AESO pool price across the entire province dropped to zero. And when you have to pay for fuel, but get paid nothing for your output, those who consume the most fuel are likely to cut production, often to zero. That’s exactly what happened.
Unless a generator has a special arrangement, such as for carbon credits or otherwise, they get paid the pool price – which in this case, was zero.
Alberta pool price at 1 a.m. on Jan. 13. AESO
Alberta was exporting over a gigawatt, 1,036 megawatts to be precise, to its neighbours for less than the price of one singular Timbit. The pool price posted by the AESO was zero, and had been zero for 10 of the previous 24 hours. British Columbia was the greatest beneficiary, getting 945 megawatts of free power, while Saskatchewan got 47 megawatts and Montana took in 44 megawatts.
This was Alberta’s power exports at 1:36 a.m. on Jan. 13. Over a gigawatt was being provided to its neighbours for less than the price of a singular Timbit.
This box of Timbits cost more than the gigawatt of power Alberta was providing its neighbours at 1:36 a.m. on Jan. 13, 2026. Indeed, just one of these Timbits cost more than that power. And that was the price for 10 out of 24 hours. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
Of Alberta’s 11 combined cycle and eight gas-fired steam (former coal) units, not one was operating near capacity. Indeed, one combined cycle and six gas-fired steam units were at zero output. The remainder were generally operating around half capacity, or less. Nearly all of the former coal, now natural gas plants chose not to produce power for nothing. These account for most of the largest individual power generating units on the Alberta grid. According to the AESO’s event log, only H.R. Milner, and Keephills 2 were offline, and had been since Jan. 9 and 10. The others registering zeros clearly chose to shut down output.
Ablerta’s largest natural gas generators dramatically scaled back output at 1:36 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. MC is maximum capacity, in megawatts. TNG is total net to grid. DCR is dispatched, and accepted, contingency reserve. AESO
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Despite the high wind numbers and zero dollars being paid for the pool price, Alberta still saw 59.4 per cent of its power coming from natural gas. And those generators were getting zero dollars for their product for 10 of 24 hours.
Several of the larger wind farms were operating near maximum nameplate capacity. Blackspring Ridge was at 292 megawatts out of a rated capacity of 300 megawatts, or 97.3 per cent. Castle Rock Ridge 2 was at 74 out of 77 megawatts, or 96 per cent output. Sharp Hill Wind was at 281 megawatts out of 297, or 94.6 per cent. Rattlesnake Ridge Wind was pumping out 11 megawatts out of a capacity of 130, making 93.8 per cent of capacity.
Wind output in Alberta at This was at 1:36 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. MC is maximum capacity, in megawatts. TNG is total net to grid. DCR is dispatched, and accepted, contingency reserve. AESO
As it was night, solar output was zero. And as surplus power meant there was little need for hydro, in situations like this, hydro output usually falls to minimal levels as dam operators allow their reservoirs to refill. In this case, hydro was producing 76 megawatts out of a capacity of 899, or 13.5 per cent output.
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