Most of this past week, Premier Scott Moe has focused on the future of power generation in Saskatchewan. It started with a press conference in Regina on Tuesday, a debate in the Legislature on Wednesday, more comments on Thursday and finally a meeting with Estevan and area elected officials, coal miners and electrical workers. This is the final press conference of the week, in Estevan city council chambers, where he was asked about more specific local implications on the future of power generation in the Energy City.
The reason behind all of this has been the Canadian federal government's initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its quest to combat anthropogenic (man-made) climate change. The federal government has proposed a new Clean Electricity Standard, also referred to as Clean Electricity Regulations, which would ban the usage of fossil fuels - coal and natural gas - in power generation by 2035. It's an idea referred to as "Net Zero by 2035."
But Saskatchewan currently sees up to 84 per cent of its power come from natural gas and coal, on cold days when the wind doesn't blow and wind turbines don't turn. Moe said initially on May 2, and again on May 16, that meeting such federal standards would be impossible for Saskatchewan.
The implications for all of this in Estevan, Saskatchewan's largest power generation site for generations, are massive.
Video by Brian Zinchuk
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