Letter to the Editor: Alberta wind and solar power generation failure
Dear editor: This past June, with absence of wind, and British Columbia smoke blocking the sun, power was taken from 70-year-old coal fired plants in Montana to supply the Alberta green grid. This was viewed on Reliable Energy website (https://twitter.com/ReliableAB)....
SaskEnergy sets yet another consumption record on Jan. 6
REGINA – It didn’t take long for SaskEnergy to set another natural gas consumption record. On Jan. 6, this province’s natural gas usage hit 1.66 petajoules (PJ). The previous daily record was set on December 29, 2021. “This marks the fifth time in the past two weeks...
NEWS: Worker killed, 2 injured, in truck crash at Suncor mine site
CALGARY — A worker was killed and two others injured in a truck crash at Suncor Energy Inc.’s Base Mine site near Fort McMurray, Alta on Thursday. The incident occurred around 6:30 a.m., when two haul trucks collided, said Suncor spokeswoman...
Brian Zinchuk: Would you buy a washer that could only do one sock at a time? That’s solar power in the winter
CORRECTION: This story initially reported that Alberta has 736 megawatts of wind power installed. The Travers facility is listed by the Alberta Electric System Operator, but Travers in fact is not actually operational yet as it is under construction. So the total of...
Alberta’s wind and solar produced 1/10 of 1% of their total rated capacity on Wednesday night
CORRECTION: This story initially reported that Alberta has 736 megawatts of wind power installed. The Travers facility is listed by the Alberta Electric System Operator, but Travers in fact is not actually operational yet as it is under construction. So the total of...
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Williston Basin Petroleum Conference is gearing up for Regina event May 17-18
REGINA – Things are gearing up for he Williston Basin Petroleum Conference, to be held in Regina May 17-18. Organizers are currently is seeking papers for presentations. The conference, which alternates between Bismarck, N.D., and Regina, is hosted by the Petroleum...
ICYMI: Premier Scott Moe year end interview on energy issues facing Saskatchewan; end of downturn, labour, clean fuel, pipelines, helium, lithium, geothermal
In case you missed it: Premier Scott Moe sat down with Pipeline Online on Dec. 14 to discuss energy issues of the past year. It was likely the only year-end interview that did not touch on COVID-19, but rather energy. The interview starts with the end of the seven...
Twice last week, SaskEnergy set new daily natural gas usage records, and we can thank Alberta for most of our supply
Not only was Saskatchewan setting electrical consumption records during the cold snap of last week of December, we also set two consecutive natural gas consumption records, too. According to SaskEnergy in a Dec. 31 release, “Extreme cold weather across Saskatchewan...
Helium in Saskatchewan, Part 9: Steve Halabura: How much Is ten per cent, anyways? What helium could mean for Saskatchewan
Editor’s note: When he’s not contributing to Pipeline Online, Steve Halabura is vice president of exploration of Royal Helium, among other things. The other day, I was chatting with my friend and colleague John Styles, and Saskatchewan’s Helium Plan came up. John,...
Brian Zinchuk: Alberta wind and solar produced 76 megawatts out of a theoretical 2,605 megawatts at noon on New Year’s Eve, with cold warnings all over the province
New Year’s Eve proved, at least in Alberta, that for each and every megawatt of wind and solar power installation installed, you absolutely must have reliable backup generation, principally in the form of natural gas-fired power generation.
We cannot take the risk, ever, of enduring what Texas went through this last February. If we lost power here for days and weeks on end, during the coldest part of the year, we could see thousands die. This province would, in a matter of hours, become uninhabitable. Not uncomfortable. Uninhabitable. We cannot, and must not, set up our grid such that there’s any possibility of that happening.
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SaskPower sets another power consumption record at 3,910 megawatts on Dec. 30, while Alberta’s wind and solar produces next to nothing on New Year’s Eve
REGINA – Another cold day, another record set. SaskPower reported on Dec. 31 that it set another record for power consumption at 6:01 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 30. The province was consuming 3,910 megawatts, an increase of 42 megawatts over the previous day’s record of...
NEWS: Enbridge closes $1.14B deal with Trencap LP giving Caisse company full Noverco stake
CALGARY — Enbridge Inc. says the previously announced $1.14-billion deal to sell its stake in Noverco Inc. to a company controlled by the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec has closed. Trencap LP, which is majority owned by the Quebec pension...
NEWS: TransAlta completes conversion from coal to natural gas power in Canada
CALGARY — A major Canadian electricity producer is successfully off coal power in this country, nine years ahead of a government deadline. Calgary-based Trans-Alta Corp. announced Wednesday it has finished its planned transition from coal to...
Murray Lyons: I was zero years old when …
I was zero years old in 1956 when natural gas came to Portage la Prairie, Man. where I was born and raised on hot porridge and nature’s clean wonder fuel. Thereafter, only once in 65 years did we have baseboard electric, which is neither wonderful nor clean, even in the Manitoba context of “clean” hydropower for electrical energy.
SaskPower sets consumption record of 3,868 megawatts on Dec. 29, wind created 290 megawatts of that
Golden South Wind Facility, Assiniboia, summer of 2021. Video by Brian Zinchuk REGINA – SaskPower routinely sets power...
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David Yager: The many reasons for oilpatch optimism in 2022
If you’re fortunate enough to still be working in oil and gas, not only is your future secure but do your employer a favour and inquire if a few of your former co-workers would consider coming back. We need your help.
It’s -32 C, and we spent 3.5 hours snowblowing today. Could an electric snowblower charged by wind power have done it?
It’s Dec. 27, and I’m sitting at my parent’s acreage on the edge of Yorkton. We got back last night from Preeceville just before a big storm hit. Just driving a half mile out of town to their acreage, visibility was less than 50 metres, and I could not see where the...
The 12 Rigs of Christmas: On the 12th day of Christmas, my missus gave to me, Panther Drilling Rig 4
Here’s the 12th day of the 12 Rigs of Christmas! You’ll see rigs of companies still here, and others that have come and gone. Some have changed names and colours. People have come and gone. But you know what? Our industry is still keeping our trucks fueled and our...
The 12 Rigs of Christmas: On the 11th day of Christmas, my missus gave to me, Red Dog Drilling Rig 4
Here’s the 11th day of the 12 Rigs of Christmas! You’ll see rigs of companies still here, and others that have come and gone. Some have changed names and colours. People have come and gone. But you know what? Our industry is still keeping our trucks fueled and our...
Premier Scott Moe year end, Part 3: Helium, lithium, geothermal all possible because we have an oilpatch, and sorting out mineral rights between them
Premier Scott Moe sat down with Pipeline Online on Dec. 14 to discuss energy issues of the past year. It was likely the only year-end interview that did not touch on COVID-19, but rather energy. In this part, he talks about helium, lithium and geothermal...
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The 12 Rigs of Christmas: On the tenth day of Christmas, my missus gave to me, Crusader Drilling Rig 2
I would like to dedicate the tenth Rig of Christmas to Larrie Rae. Larrie passed away a few days ago, and his funeral was this week. A drilling consultant, he was one of the founders of Yorkton-based Crusader Drilling. I don’t have any photos of him, and we never met, but I got to know his father, Don, who ran Crusader, over the years. To Don and family, I would like to pass my condolences.
Brian Crossman: Energy issues and Celine Dion – did you buy your wife tickets for Christmas? Good luck with that
My wife Valerie has always wanted to see Celine Dion perform live. She loves many of the songs she sings, along with the obvious amazing talent the performer possesses. And of course she is Canadian. While not as big a fan, I am in awe of her incredible voice, and I...
Premier Scott Moe year end, Part 2: Energy security, and the labour shortage in Saskatchewan’s energy sector
Premier Scott Moe sat down with Pipeline Online on Dec. 14 to discuss energy issues of the past year. It was likely the only year-end interview that did not touch on COVID-19, but rather energy. In this part, he talks about energy security and food security being...
Helium in Saskatchewan, Part 8: The nitty gritty on helium development, from an early mover in Saskatchewan’s play
DALLAS – Back in 2015 or 2016, this reporter got a phone call from a man with a Texas accent. The voice on the other end of the call was that of Wheeler “Bo” Sears, and he wanted to talk about helium, in Saskatchewan, of all places. This was long before helium started...
Quick Dick McDick: Carol of the Chores
One of my favourite Christmas carols is the Carol of the Bells, played very, very loudly. Well, this is the Quick Dick McDick version. Turn it loud, and make that subwoofer boom! [fwduvp preset_id="brian" playlist_id="ad1" start_at_playlist=""...