The case for, yes for, big wind at Weyburn

 

WEYBURN – There has been notable opposition to the plans to develop a 200 megawatt wind power facility just east of Weyburn. But there are also numerous reasons in favour of it as well, from perspectives one might not normally think of.

The project in question is a 200 megawatt wind facility intended to be built immediately east of Weyburn. The project will entail 46 wind turbines, with a hub eight of 120 metres and a rotor diameter of 175 metres. That’s a total height of about 205 metres, or 673 feet, the rough equivalent of a 56 story building. Each turbine would have a nameplate capacity of 4.5 megawatts.

The Seven Stars Energy Project was announced on June 21. First and foremost, SaskPower is not the developer or owner of the project. SaskPower’s part is that of a power purchaser – to buy all the power from the planned facility at agreed upon rates through a power purchase agreement. SaskPower has explicitly said it does not pay when no power is produced from such renewable energy projects.

The provincial government did, however, announce on June 24 it would provide up to $100 million in loan guarantees to six Indigenous partners to support their investment in Enbridge’s new renewable wind energy project southeast of Weyburn

The initial developer was EDF – Électricité de France SA, through its subsidiary EDF Renewables. The project was sold to Enbridge, the Canadian pipeline giant which has gone heavily into wind power development, and done so for a very long time. Indeed, its first wind project, known as Sunbridge, was a joint venture with oil giant Suncor, building what by today’s standards was a small 11.2 megawatt wind facility near Gull Lake, Saskatchewan. That was one of Saskatchewan’s first grid-scale wind facilities. It was retired and demolished in 2022, 20 years after it was commissioned as it reached end-of-life.

Enbridge has since gone on to build out a substantial wind portfolio, at home and abroad, with substantial projects offshore France. Its total wind capacity is 4,870 megawatts (gross)—or 2,117 megawatts (net)—of wind-power capacity globally, based on projects either in operation or under construction, according to Enbridge’s website. If that portfolio was producing at 60 per cent, that would be about the same as the typical power usage of Saskatchewan on a fall day.

In no way is Enbridge new to the wind business, having seen a project through its entire life cycle, and has done so in this very province.

Enbridge is also not some fly-by-night company, in business for over 70 years, and the pipeline giant is one of Canada’s largest and most strategically significant businesses.

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Wind was needed to give coal a reprieve. Seriously

As part of its bargaining to squeeze a few more years of usage out of its Boundary Dam Power Station Units 4 and 5, in 2014, SaskPower agreed with the federal government that it would add an additional 3,000 megawatts of wind and solar to the Saskatchewan grid by 2035. This agreement was necessary for several reasons. First, the federal Conservative government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper brought in a rule that said all conventional coal generating units (without carbon capture) had to shut down once they reached 50 years of operation, and conventional coal shut down by 2030. BD4 and 5 were rapidly reaching that 50 year point, and SaskPower had not yet built out its now-growing fleet of large-scale combined cycle natural gas power stations to replace the coal going offline.

Under the Liberal government, eliminating conventional coal from the electrical grid became a top priority, and they continued with the Conservative plan that all conventional coal-fired power was to be eliminated from the national grid by 2030. That’s five years, 22 days from today.

 

SaskPower President and CEO Rupen Pandya explained on Sept. 25, 2023, “When we signed the equivalency agreement with the federal government in 2014 to allow us to keep using coal to the end of 2030, part of that agreement required us to build out renewables in the province, so that we could operate coal assets, coal generators, past their end of life. And that’s what we’ve been able to do. And we continue to do. So, part of the build out of renewables that’s required as part of the equivalency agreement, that 3,000 megawatts that we need to put in place by 2035. I think 2,000 by 2030. A good tranche of that will be in that south central part of Saskatchewan around Coronach. So we currently have in the market an RFP for 700 megawatts of wind and solar in the Coronach region, so it’ll will actually go into power, if all goes well with RFPs, in 2027.”

SaskPower’s acceptance of the terms of the coal equivalency agreement was very much an example of Popeye’s character Wimpy promising “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” Using that metaphor, it’s now Sunday, going into Monday, and Tuesday is coming fast.

https://youtu.be/68eue5cpbsE?si=u6Y34IvldVp9qld3

Indigenous ownership

Among SaskPower’s stipulations for all new wind and solar projects is the requirement of a certain percentage amount of Indigenous ownership, with the intention of building upon the idea of reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous people. If a project does not have that component, it will not go further, simple as that. Thus, the Bekevar Wind Power Facility near Kipling saw a $50 million investment from the federal government on behalf of Cowessess First Nation, essentially staking Cowessess’ investment in the project worth more than $300 million.

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Similarly, the Weyburn wind project is known as the Seven Stars Energy Project. In addition to Enbridge, the Six Nations Energy Development Limited Partnership, a newly created Indigenous consortium, will steward investment in the Seven Stars project on behalf of:

• Cowessess First Nation
• George Gordon First Nation
• Kahkewistahaw First Nation
• Métis Nation-Saskatchewan
• Pasqua First Nation
• White Bear First Nations

 

Enbridge is one of SaskPower’s largest customers. Its pumping stations along its Mainline pipeline system, which runs through Saskatchewan from Macklin to Moosomin, and terminals in Kerrobert and Regina, are major consumers of power. This is indicated by the large substations located adjacent to its pumping stations along its mainline. And like all major corporations, Enbridge is under pressure from markets to improve it’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) standing.

 

And if that isn’t enough, the federal government is in the final stages of putting together its proposed Clean Electricity Regulations. Those regulations, if implemented, will require coal and natural gas-fired power generations to be all but eliminated from Canada’s electrical grid unless they have expensive carbon capture systems installed on them, systems that will use up to roughly a third of the power station’s output just to operate. Without carbon capture, natural gas-fired power station will only be allowed to run 450 hours per year (less than 19 days) in peaking operations. And without carbon capture, coal won’t be allowed at all. The final version of those regulations are anticipated to be released any day now.

Here’s something to consider: would the oilfield, one of the largest consumers of electricity in the province, benefit from reduced carbon tax payable on their power bills each month? After all, every customer, from the private home owner to the largest oil company, pays the ever-increasing carbon tax on the electricity they consume, if it comes from fossil fuel burning generation, be it coal or natural gas. Every megawatt produced by non-emitting power generation, even if it is intermittent, is one megawatt that does not have the carbon tax applied to it. On April 1, 2025 the carbon tax will ratchet up yet again, to $95 per tonne of CO2. If that carbon tax stays in place and this project takes two years to build, the carbon tax will be $125 per tonne when the project goes online.

And that will also be around the time the planned oil and gas emissions cap goes into effect, if indeed it does go into effect.

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Land assembly

One of the most difficult components of any major project is land assembly – getting the landowners to agree to the project being built, and living with the results. This was a major stumbling block for the Keystone XL pipeline, especially through areas of Nebraska where local landowners felt the integrity of the shallow but crucial Ogalla Aquifer could be at risk should something go wrong. This led to large-scale opposition in that state, and a revision of the planned right-of-way before the project was eventually killed by a Montana judge and then President Joe Biden within minutes of being sworn into office.

Similarly, a key reason for the death of the Energy East Pipeline was Quebec’s opposition.

Such opposition is an example of the term “NIMBY” – Not In My BackYard. And that’s definitely been happening at Weyburn, with a local group vocally opposed to the project.

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Unique circumstances

The Weyburn project is somewhat unique in that roughly half of the land in question is owned by one family. And that family has been interested in wind development for nearly two decades.

Indeed, it was back in 1997 that brothers Dan, Craig and Tim Cugnet attended their first CANWEA (now known as CANREA) wind conference at Pincher Creek and Lethbridge. They installed a wind data tower near Halbrite to gather wind data, a critical first step before any major wind project is developed. These data towers will typically be in place for several years before a project goes ahead to determine hard numbers on the available wind resource at the site. While one might think it’s windy all over the prairies, the reality is no one makes a bet worth hundreds of millions of dollars on a location before they know for sure. And in this case, the Cugnets gathered data for 17 years, likely one of the largest data sets recorded in Saskatchewan to date.

The Cugnet family is well known in Weyburn and area, as prominent business owners, farmers, oilmen and philanthropists. The local community arts centre is known as the Cugnet Centre, for instance, and that is just one small example of decades of philanthropy the family has provided to community. They own several oilfield service businesses, and their privately-held family oil company is Valleyview Petroleums.  And their substantial farmland holdings means they have much of the open country in place upon which to build a wind farm.

Family patriarch, the late Ken Cugnet, literally grew up a few miles up the road from the discovery well that founded the Weyburn Unit back in 1954. They’ve been an oil family ever since.

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Swimming in turbulent waters

Being in the oil business means swimming in increasingly turbulent waters, especially with a federal government that keeps imposing ever-increasingly strict environmental requirements in its quest to fight the concept of anthropogenic climate change.

The federal government has strongly pushed for the development of big wind and solar projects across Canada, as evidenced by the aforementioned Bekevar project, where it literally put money down. Its broad and various climate change schemes have pushed for zero emissions power production, carbon credit schemes (Quebec and California are part of a cap-and-trade system), and so forth. The most recent significant initiative will require the oil and gas industry to implement a cap on oil and gas greenhouse gas emissions, effectively creating a cap-and-trade system.

The Cugnets do not have an ownership stake in the project, other than being landowners who would receive lease payments, just like the other landowners. But they do have their eye on the horizon.

Dan Cugnet told Pipeline Online on Dec. 4, “We are large power users. Increasing production is about utilizing increasing power, through ESP’s, injections, increased disposal needs, and frankly moving more water and fluid.

“Creating revenue streams from electrical generation and renewables is about getting in front of and reacting to increasing regulatory hurdles at different levels of government.

“It’s a hedge in a way, I suppose, against what we are dealing with and what we see coming next.

“We also have concerns about when we start to hear language and indications about agriculture and nitrogen use and emissions. The government has clearly shown oil and coal are top of mind, but is big ag next? These are things we want to be ahead of.

“And part of that, is having an entity with the expertise and capacity make investments towards that end in southeast Saskatchewan.”

He continued, “We need more power. Every day.

“And whether we like it or not, we’re not seeing huge coal deposits being found, or the ones that are, scaled and growing.

“Natural gas is a huge part of that, and nuclear certainly seems to be on the horizon, but it’s not here yet,” he said.

“We can’t get more oil out of the ground without utilizing a lot more power to do it.

 

He noted the need for a lot more power to move larger amounts of fluid. That, in turn, means needing a lot more power to process it, ship it and to re-inject it and keep reservoir pressures up.

“I think it’s lost on a lot of people how massive a consumer of power the oil sector is,” he said. “And whether by federal decree, or just outright needing more because we’re using more every day, we need huge amounts of electricity to do it.”

He pointed out that a recent announcement by the Province of Alberta aimed at substantial growth of data centres in that province. But those data centres will require massive amounts of electricity. And the application of artificial intelligence, including that which will be used in oil and gas enhanced oil recovery, will also require lots of electricity.

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Private money

Cugnet said, “Frankly, that this isn’t on the taxpayer dime to sink these huge capital costs into these projects, is something that as taxpayer I celebrate and am grateful for.

“Just like as an RM taxpayer, the idea that the RM of Weyburn will generate enough dollars every year in property tax money to cover the gravel budget is huge for every ratepayer in the RM.

 

“People are worried about their land values. And that’s fair to be concerned.

“But you know where land values increase and where people want to live and invest in? Its jurisdictions with lower property taxes.

“And the more dollars you’re generating from more sources, the lower the tax burden is on everyone. Industry, agriculture and acreage owners. And I don’t know if that has all been communicated as well as it could be. But it needs to be.

“This project is important for all the ratepayers of RM of Weyburn. And the city of Weyburn.

“It’s going to keep a lot of restaurants, hotels and retail busy during construction.

“That’s a good thing for the business community.”

 

New money in the community

The local benefits of the project include local construction costs approaching the $100 million dollar mark. Leases from the project will contribute about $5-6 million into the economy each year, with an escalator clause for the 30 year lifespan of the project.

Cugnet points out that’s new money that will circulate through the local economy four to six times before it is lost through taxation or exits in other ways.

“So every million dollars of new money is like putting five million in, to circulate around for the next few years with surface payments, property taxes, infrastructure improvements, school taxes, sponsorships and donations. This is like putting a billion dollars into the southeast Saskatchewan economy over the next 30 years,” he said.

“People don’t get it. And they need to.”

A notable example was the construction of Bekevar. Kipling-based GeeBee Construction was contracted to do the dirt and foundation work and roadbuilding. It was done through a joint venture with Cowessess First Nation, employing many dozens of people for roughly two years it took to build Bekevar. Local workers, local businesses, and Cowessess First Nation all benefited from the project. When Pipeline Online visited Bekevar on the day it was declared online, one of these crews was just wrapping up putting the topsoil in place on one of the southwest turbines.

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Leases

And, of course, there’s the yearly lease payments to landholders who agree to the placement of those wind turbines. While their vertical presence is massive, as is the sweep of their blades, their bases are actually quite small, at least the portion seen above ground. Once the dirt is put back, the physical footprint at surface of one of these turbines isn’t terribly more than a large pumpjack is long. The roads in and out are not terribly different from typical oilfield lease roads, either.

Who gets to tell you want to do with your land?

Landowner rights are something Cugnet is particularly concerned about – essentially, what right does someone else have to control what’s happening across the fenceline? If a cell tower went up, or a neighbour planted a crop that you didn’t like, what right do they have to oppose it?

He said, “And a vital part of this is simply as a landowner. What are the rights of landowners? Do you get to choose which crop you grow? Yes.

“Do you get to sign a lease or agreement with an oil company to drill minerals, or put a well on land? Yes.

“Or put a cell or radio tower on land and lease an area for it? Absolutely.”

He asserted people should have freedom to do with their land as they wish.

“It’s been surprising. We’ve been caught off guard by this reaction from some, as we have always believed that the people who own land or a yard should be able to do whatever they want with it. If you want to run a business out of your yard or farm the way you want, that’s your right as a landowner. Where does it all go? Where does it end? It all smacks of cancel culture run amok.”

Cugnet said, “Our goal is to remain solvent and grow our companies and our family farm. We’ve been here since the 1890s. And we have no plans of going anywhere.”

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Big players involved

Since the Cugnets started collecting data, several companies have come and gone, expressing interest but nothing went beyond that. Then EDF, the largest nuclear operator in the world, came along.

“We were thrilled to sign with them,” Cugnet said. “They spent years doing research and due diligence and then enter Enbridge, as a partner. Then Enbridge takes over. We learned the day it was announced that the project was proceeding, and that’s also when we learned that EDF was out and Enbridge had taken over.

 

“Enbridge is one of Canada’s flagship companies, and we are excited to see them want to make this investment in southeast Saskatchewan and are proud to be landowners as part of this project.”

As for the layout, Cugnet said, “The first time I saw the initial tower layout was the morning of the July 17^th meeting.”

Asked if they had choice in the layout, Cugnet replied, “None.”

He added the layout may change depending on the bylaws of the two rural municipalities involved. As he understands it, the layout is currently in flux.

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All energy businesses

When you think about it, fundamentally agriculture is about creating the energy our bodies metabolize from the food we eat. And that food is created by capturing energy from the sun, turning it either into crops, or fodder for the animals we later consume.

Any way you look at it, farming is really a form of energy harvesting, according to Cugnet.

 

“Farming is the energy business. Oil is the energy business. Wind is the energy business. We are focused on exploring, creating, growing, harnessing, utilizing and selling energy.”

“Human beings don’t abandon forms of energy. We simply find and consume more. Oil is never going away in our lifetime. And I believe that wind generation in Saskatchewan is a huge part of ensuring that holds true. We need to compete, in every way we can. And we may not like the cards we’ve been dealt, but if we want to play the game, you play the hand you have. It’s that simple,”

“Like I said earlier, we’ve been here for over a 130 years scratching in the ground to try and create energy of one form or another.

“And if we can keep working away it, and we’re lucky, we plan to be here for a 130 more. Whether that is in the form of a little seed or kernel of grain, or bringing oil up from kilometres deep beneath the earth’s surface to be turned into thousands of items we rely on everyday. And now we’re on the cusp of seeing large scale electrical generation happen through harnessing something that most days we’d rather do without around here…the wind,” he concluded.

 

 

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