An op-ed, short for “opposite the editorial page”, is a written prose piece, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication’s editorial board.
Saskatoon-based electrical engineer Brahm Neufeld keeps a sharp eye on all the publicly released data on the province’s electrical grid, as published by SaskPower. While that data is orders of magnitude less detailed than the Alberta Electric System Operator’s public data for that province’s grid, Neufeld is able to pull out remarkable amounts information from what is available here.
He posts his regular analysis, which updates itself automatically, on http://www.skelectricity.info/. And on Jan. 2, he posted his monster infographic. It’s so large, Pipeline Online had to screenshot it on a 4K monitor just to get it in, and even then had to paste two pieces together.
The original can be found here.
So prepare to nerd out – pinch zoom, squint, do what you need, but dig in and discover your own insights.
http://www.skelectricity.info/
Some of Neufeld’s insights, as posted on LinkedIn:
– All the coal Saskatchewan burned could fill a 45,500-car train that would span 1.5 Saskatoon-to-Regina round trips! 🏭
– Just six SMRs (assume BWRX-300) could offset ALL fossil fuel use on our day of LOWEST fossil (coal & gas) generation, and offset 7.6 MT of CO2eq annually – over half of our 2023 footprint. 🟢
– Our best wind streak (back-to-back days of top quartile performance) was 12 days, and our worst calm streak (bottom quartile performance) was 8 days. Sask wind capacity factor at 38% is legitimately one of the best in the world – but the fact wind flatlines periodically flatline is a challenge! 🪁
– Hydroelectric generation consistently trended downwards through 2023, with Q4 2023 about 50% lower than in Q4 2022 on average. 🌊
What will 2024 bring for our electrical grid? New gas offsetting coal? Regina 20 MW battery completed? More wind and solar shaving some fossil peaks? Progress on the SMR file towards deep decarbonization?
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You can follow Neufeld’s posts on X at @SKElectricity.
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