The SaskPower grid system was enriched by one megawatt of electrical power on March 3 with the startup of the Kineticor flare gas power generation facility which will add electrical power into the provincial grid system and it will be purchased by SaskPower.
The Kineticor site near Shaunavon in southwest Saskatchewan saw their project initiated when SaskPower’s Flare Gas Power Generation Program was launched. This is a program designed to help oil and gas operations reduce their environmental footprint by turning waste flare gas into usable electricity.
The contract was signed with a 20-year agreement attached to the sales and purchases.
SaskPower’s president and CEO Mike Marsh said “we hope to see more projects like this being developed in the future by oil and gas producers and their partners in collaboration with SaskPower. We can help them reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, while we buy the electricity produced to meet Saskatchewan’s growing demand for more environmentally sustainable electricity.”
Kineticor CEO Andrew Plaunt said “this project signifies one of the many opportunities for Kineticor to provide oil and gas producers an economical solution to reduce and eliminate flaring. We offer an innovative model to capture and convert energy that would otherwise be flared while significantly reducing the operation’s carbon footprint.”
Saskatchewan has taken steps recently to reduce flaring, incinerating and venting waste gas with new regulations. SaskPower’s Flare Gas Power Generation Progam allows oil and gas operations to convert waste flare gas into usable electricity for residents. It also represents a modest additional revenue source for the operations. In addition, this project will allow further research and development into the emerging technology.
