Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Believe it or not, Google Streetview drove pass the Turning Sun Solar Facity in September, 2025, when road construction was taking place. This is the southeast corner, looking northwest. The project will extend 1.5 miles, three quarters of land, to the west, and two quarters, or one mile, to the north, from this corner. A total of four quarters are being used. Google Earth
ESTEVAN – Construction has started on the 100 megawatt solar facility 10 kilometres southwest of Estevan and six kilometres southwest of Boundary Dam Power Station.
Once complete, the Turning Sun Solar Facility will be the largest grid-scale solar farm in this province by a wide margin. Currently, there are only three grid-scale solar facilities in Saskatchewan, each just 10 megawatts. However, another similar scale project known as Southern Springs Energy Facility is in the works to be built just south of the Poplar River Power Station at Coronach. That 100 megawatt project is being developed by Potentia Renewables.
According to the Estevan project’s website, “Turning Sun Solar, formerly Iyuhána Solar, is a partnership with GSI Management Inc. (GSI) and Ocean Man First Nation (OMFN). The Project has been awarded an exclusive Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with SaskPower, to construct and operate the Project for 25 years.”
Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure project co-ordinator Kyra Windrim provided an update on the project to the Estevan Chamber of Commerce on April 1 at the Days Inn.
“it’s already started. It’s happening,” Windrim said.
Mobilization started in March, and construction officially started April 1, according to Windrim. It’ll take a few months to get the perimeter fencing up, which is the opening phase of the project.
There will be approximately 150 workers at peak. Once operational, which expected in December of 2027, ongoing staff will be two to three workers.
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The size of the fully-permitted project shrunk in the physical space it occupies, compared to what was originally envisioned. SaskPower had purchased several quarters of land, but in the end only four were needed. The footprint will be in the shape of a L on its side, with three quarters of land going west-east, and then the fourth going north. The racks will be mounted on driven piles with minimal disturbance of the land, except as necessary for road and facilities.
Roadwork was completed last year to improve the quality of the grid road running along the south side of the project. Previously, it was not much better than a dirt road.
The facility’s substation will be on the southwest corner of the project. It will be tied into the SaskPower Grid by way of the new Tableland switchyard, currently under construction a few kilometres to the west. That switchyard will also be the terminus of the intertie under construction between SaskPower and the Southwest Power Pool, which stretches from North Dakota across parts of 14 states to the Texas Panhandle.
The location is notable in that it is immediately adjacent to 18 quarters of land SaskPower owns for future coal development, known as the “west pit.” When the solar project was envisioned and the project was coming together, the future of coal-fired power generation was essentially non-existent, as federal coal regulations mandated the end of conventional coal-fired power generation by Dec. 31, 2029. The surprise announcement by Minister of Crown Investments Corporation and Minister Responsible for SaskPower Jeremy Harrison on June 18, 2025, changed all of that.
Conceivably, if there’s coal on the south side of the road, there’s likely coal on the north side of the road. But the solar farm will now occupy four quarters of land, for at least 25 years, limiting any potential northward expansion of the west pit, should it ever be opened up for actual coal production.
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According to the RM of Estevan, approximately one quarter of land is used by the coal mine each year, based on current consumption.
Turning Solar is anticipated to have a 25 year lifespan, after which time the company is expected to decommission the site as an obligation and requirement.
The solar panels will be aligned north-and-south, and pivot to track the sun’s movements through the sky. That function will also allow the panels to shed snow. And a GSI representative at an open house last year explained that if severe weather, particularly hail, is expected, the panels can be oriented vertically to minimize any potential damage. That’s a major consideration, as fixed position solar panels have no such defense against hail, and as a result some solar farms elsewhere have sustained major damage from large hail events.
The engineer, procurement and contractor for the project is Barton Marlow. “They’ve been leading the initiative behind hiring and any efforts for procuring, procuring long lead items and equipment,” Windrim said.
It’s taken a long time to get here, with 15 of 18 project milestones now complete.
Windrim explained that GSI will be providing four annual scholarships of $5,000 each for each year the project is in operation. Two will go to the University of Regina, and two will go to Southeast College. For each school, one of those scholarships is designated for a person of Indigenous background. GSI has been working closely with Southeast College, which will see four of its electrical students intern on the project construction.
GSI has already contributed $60,000 to the college’s “Centre of Sustainable Innovation.”
They’ve also had two masters students working on ecological research with respect to the project and impacts on wildlife.
One concern that had been raised to Pipeline Online a few months ago was the origin of the steel going into the project. Apparently several prospective local suppliers had offered bids with steel sourced from the Regina steel mill. Very late in the game, Chinese steel was chosen instead. Windrim confirmed it was, indeed, Chinese steel going into this project.
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