Carbon capture and storage is one of the ways SaskPower is creating a cleaner energy future, which is critical to our long-term success.
We are also doing this through a commitment to adding more renewable sources to our generation fleet and adding technology to modernize our grid. In October 2014, we were proud to launch the world’s first commercial-scale post-combustion carbon capture and storage (CCS) process on a coal unit. SaskPower firmly believes that CCS technology is an important option for the world to fight man-made climate change.
SaskPower pioneered CCS on a commercial scale at the Boundary Dam Power Station, in Estevan, Saskatchewan.
Retrofitted in 2011-13, Unit 3 of the coal station was reaching the end of its useful life and was a prime candidate for carbon capture technology. It will now continue to function until the 2040s, producing more than 110 MW of power for the grid, and doing so in a way that is much more environmentally sustainable than conventional coal units, and even cleaner than combined-cycle natural gas units. The retrofit represents an investment of approximately $1.5 billion ($CAD), including a $240 million grant from the Government of Canada. The process captures carbon dioxide, which is compressed and sold to an offtaker for enhanced oil recovery in the Weyburn-Midale oilfields, or sent to SaskPower’s deep injection well for permanent, safe storage.
The process also captures sulphur dioxide, which is chemically transformed into sulphuric acid on-site, then sold to an off taker for industrial uses.