Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
GRIFFIN – The Seven Stars Energy Project finally cleared another hurdle on July 21, when it received approval from the RM of Griffin for a development permit.
The Enbridge-led Seven Stars Energy Project is a proposed 200 megawatt wind project intended to be built east of Weyburn. Enbridge is the lead proponent of the project, with six First Nations and Indigenous organizations a partners (thus “Seven Stars.”). The project is expected to have a total cost in excess of a half billion dollars.
Six Indigenous bands and organizations that are part of the “Seven Stars.” They include:
- Cowessess First Nation
- George Gordon First Nation
- Kahkewistahaw First Nation
- Métis Nation-Saskatchewan
- Pasqua First Nation
- White Bear First Nations
RM of Griffin’s approval comes over seven months after the neighbouring RM of Weyburn granted its own approval. The most recent version of the design has half of the 46 wind turbines falling in each RM, with 23 going to each. As the project has evolved, turbine locations closer to Weyburn and acreages near it were shifted to the east, into the RM of Griffin.
Here is the official media statement provided by the RM of Griffin on July 22:
The Rural Municipality of Griffin held its regular council meeting on July 21, 2026, where Reeve and Council reviewed and discussed the Development Permit application for the Seven Stars Energy Partnership Enbridge Wind Turbine project.
Following discussion, Council voted to approve the Development Permit, with four members voting in favour, two opposed, and one abstaining.
The approval is subject to conditional requirements that must be met. These requirements are intended to ensure the project advances in accordance with municipal expectations, applicable regulations, and appropriate site restoration commitments.
The RM of Griffin remains committed to reviewing development applications carefully and balancing local priorities, regulatory obligations, and long-term community interests.
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That it took seven months for the RM of Griffin to come to the same conclusion as Weyburn is indicative of the slow-walk process that has been going on, as opponents of the project rallied their not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) stance and dragged out the approval process at every step in the road. While this is a private project, the provincial government has been in favour of its development. Enbridge holds a power purchase agreement with SaskPower.
Enbridge still has to decide if it is going ahead with the project, after many months of delays. Its been over two years since Enbridge took over the project from EDF in June, 2024.
In the meantime, movement has been taking place on a similar project just over an hour’s drive west of Weyburn.
In sharp contrast to the reception potential wind developers have received just down the road in Weyburn, at Rose Valley Colony, where Saskatchewan’s latest 200 megawatt wind farm will be going up, there was a choir, singing. There, on June 15, Potentia Renewables held a sod-turning event at the Hutterite colony, with construction anticipated to begin this year.
It will be the second wind farm in the area, of similar size and scale, as Potentia built its Golden South Wind Facility near Assiniboia roughly five years ago. However, due to much larger wind turbines, this latest one at Rose Valley Colony will use far fewer turbines – just 28 – to provide 200 nameplate megawatts to the grid.
A key overarching consideration for all of this is if NIMBY activism can stop a relatively benign wind project, what will happen should the province announce a nuclear power plant in the same region?
- 0131 SASPO-2874_Self Serve Campaig0131 SASPO-2874_Self Serve Campaig
- 0130 SKTL_Starlink_Ranch_16x9_Clean0130 SKTL_Starlink_Ranch_16x9_Clean
- 0129 Turnbull drivers operators0129 Turnbull drivers operators
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- 0125 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_20250125 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_2025
- 0118 IBEW 30 sec0118 IBEW 30 sec
- 0114 Prospera Bold Vision0114 Prospera Bold Vision
- 0113 Miller Epic Cinematic Hollywood trailer0113 Miller Epic Cinematic Hollywood trailer
- 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
- 0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
- 0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
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- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
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