The carbon capture and storage (CCS) process at SaskPower’s Boundary Dam power station has kept more than two million tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere since it began operations in October of 2014.
This milestone shows that the province is making a difference in a concrete way, said Environment minister and Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA Dustin Duncan.
“The United Nations has said that CCS is essential to addressing climate change, and Saskatchewan is a global leader. It’s a commitment to environmental sustainability that we are making to future generations,” said Duncan.
This volume of carbon dioxide is the equivalent of keeping 500,000 vehicles off the road. “It’s been an incredible opportunity to explore this ground-breaking technology as part of our power-generating fleet,” said SaskPower president and CEO Mike Marsh.
“Boundary Dam 3 continues to provide electricity to more than 100,000 of our customers. What’s more, it’s doing so with coal, and in a way that makes it one of the cleanest-burning fossil fuel units on earth.”
The Boundary Dam CCS project is one of many initiatives the corporation is pursuing to keep up with the ever-growing demand for power in Saskatchewan. The strategy in using carbon capture and storage is to reduce SaskPower’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent from 2005 levels by the year 2030. The goal is also to have up to 50 per cent renewable power sources by that time.
