RES and Cowessess First Nation are working with utility SaskPower on a 200 MW wind project located south of Kipling, in southeastern Saskatchewan.
The Bekevar Wind Energy Project will consist of approximately 40 turbines, an underground medium-voltage electrical collector system, access roads, a substation, two permanent meteorological towers, and an operations and maintenance building.
SaskPower is expected to build a 10 km transmission line to connect the project to the provincial grid. The turbines are planned on a 20,000-acre area that overlaps with the RMs of Hazelwood and Kingsley, and about 500 acres of reserve land.
The project will produce enough electricity to power approximately 100,000 homes and plays a significant part in decarbonizing the Saskatchewan power generation fleet by displacing coal power dispatched by SaskPower. Bekevar Wind Energy Project will help the province achieve the federal target of phasing out conventional coal generation by 2030 and help SaskPower meet its target of 50% reduction of emissions from 2005 levels by 2030.
The project is owned by Bekevar Wind LP, a partnership between Renewable Energy Systems Canada Inc. (RES) and Awasis Nehiyawewini Energy Development, a wholly owned Cowessess First Nation entity.
Construction on the project is expected to begin in the summer of 2022 and is slated for completion by the end of 2023.
“Saskatchewan is an ideal place to build some of the most cost-effective wind power in the world,” says said Peter Clibbon, RES’ senior vice president of development. “With many world-class renewables companies qualified to bid, the tender was highly competitive, and RES and its partner, Cowessess First Nation, strove to deliver best value to SaskPower.”
