Tag: energy news

9 times in 3 weeks: how many times Texans have been warned the lights might go out

Climate Cult 23 Comments

Supper in Texas on Wednesday: for the 9th time in 3 weeks, the lights are in danger of going out due to high temperatures and low wind power generation.

Well, that’s what I initially wrote. Then the Texas grid literally went into “red alert,” as the frequency started to drop and reserves fell perilously low. If the frequency goes too low, generating plants would start to trip off in cascading failures, leading to massive blackouts. Thankfully, they got it under control.

Also: Pipeline Online editor Brian Zinchuk on John Gormley Live talking about oil prices, drilling activity, carbon capture, grid alerts, and dramatically more nuclear power generation possible in Saskatchewan.

And if you missed it, Enbridge snapped up three natural gas utilities in the US. Funny how they’re spending big money in the US, but not Canada…

 

SaskPower and Whitecap strike deal on CO2 sale and purchase

Climate Cult 21 Comments

Good news for Weyburn Unit, Whitecap, SaskPower, Weyburn and Estevan:

Whitecap Resources to buy CO2 from SaskPower until 2035, providing market for SaskPower’s BD3.

I did some in-depth analysis on the broader picture on all this, especially how carbon pricing in the US and Canada affect the economics.

Remember, the CO2 is used for enhanced oil recovery, dramatically extending the life of an oilfield that has now been producing over 65 years. And FYI, my kid found work with a oilfield company that’s worked in the Weyburn Unit for 62 years, give or take. I hope she can make a career there as a heavy duty mechanic.

A while ago I pointed out on Gormley that lower oil prices were definitely going to have an impact on Saskatchewan’s finances. I was right, as finances are down a half billion from budget.

Also, the feds just dished out $30 million for 1500 EV chargers in Quebec. Because of course they did.

So let’s see here, the federal government, with our tax dollars, have dished out money for EV manufacturers, battery plants, rebates on the EVs themselves, and now chargers. Is there anything they’ve missed? Maybe you get a car! And you get a car! Might have to do a column on this.

And, on the topic of the feds, after slow walking its construction for years, all of a sudden there’s a serious panic to get the Trans Mountain Pipeline complete and operating. Well, from what I understand, good luck with that.

Rolling blackouts again threaten Alberta and Texas on Tuesday

Climate Cult 22 Comments

The energy transition continues: Alberta issues second electrical grid alert in two days. Texas also issued a grid alert on the same day. Funny, that. The two most energy-rich jurisdictions in the hemisphere, and perhaps the planet, are struggling to keep the lights on. Again.

Oh, and Texans have been warned: expect the same on Wednesday.

Why do I keep writing about this? Because people need it beat into their heads “The emperor has no clothes!”

The energy transition in real time: brownouts threaten at suppertime

Climate Cult 20 Comments

With brownouts a possibility, Texas issues another electrical grid alert on Tuesday, its second in three days. Alberta issued one yesterday. These are the most energy-rich places on earth. What is going on?

UPDATE: 3:08 p.m. Aug. 29.

At 2:25 p.m, the Alberta Electric System Operator has not yet issued a grid alert on this date, but put out a tweet alluding to one, imploring Alberta citizens to reduce power consumption.

Saskatchewan sees 87% power from coal and natural gas as wind fails in SK, AB and Texas

Climate Cult 49 Comments
Wind turbine. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

In Saskatchewan, Poplar River Power Station is now fully online again, which is good, because on Aug. 22, when wind generation fell to less than 1 per cent capacity, natural gas and coal made up 87 per cent of power generation. And of course, Alberta saw its wind production fall below 1 per cent, again.

Texas and Alberta have more oil, gas and coal than God, because God gave all his to Texas and Alberta. And yet “grid alerts” are becoming the norm in both, as they’ve both built out tremendous amounts of  wind power, and the wind doesn’t blow. On Sunday, Texas issued its form of grid alert.

But remember, the Canadian government says we must abandon coal and natural gas for wind and solar.

Saskatchewan could be going nuclear in a big way

Climate Cult 16 Comments

First, Saskatchewan was considering four small modular reactors. Then the SaskPower minister said maybe as many as nine. Now Premier Scott Moe is floating the idea of large scale, 1000 megawatt reactors.

And the province just coughed up some money to help develop a domestic nuclear supply chain within Saskatchewan.

Also, Crescent Point Energy grew up in the Bakken, and at one point was briefly Saskatchewan’s largest oil producer. Well, they just sold all their North Dakota Bakken assets. Anyone want to start a pool as to when they will sell off remaining assets in Saskatchewan?

What do you call one-third of one per cent?

Climate Cult 26 Comments

Ding ding ding! The amount of power output Alberta’s wind farms were putting out at noon on Tuesday. But the feds want us to get rid of all coal and natural gas power generation! And it was like that for around 10 hours! Whoo hoo, more wind!

And from the other side of the spectrum, the development of lithium into a potential multi-billion dollar industry in Saskatchewan continues apace, as Hub City Lithium announced test results from its second well north of Estevan which confirmed numbers from the first – and that one had the highest concentrations reported in Canada for lithium brines. But there’s a curious wild card here – it’s right beside the Viewfield Crater, an astrobleme from 190 million years ago. There’s only a handful of known craters in Canada, and this is one. Discussion in the story.

A small drop in a very large nuclear bucket

Climate Cult 16 Comments
Jonathan Wilkinson. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

 

Four reactors could cost Saskatchewan $12 to $20 billion. The feds just gave us $74 million. But don’t worry, the money came from Guilbeault and Wilkinson. At least, those were the ministers quoted.

In the above, you will see that in 26 years, four months and 10 days, Saskatchewan could need as many as 27.5 nuclear reactors. At $3 to $5 billion a crack. Good luck, with that.

Also, Yukon might connect to the BC, and thereby national, electrical grid.

And Ford just milked the federal and Quebec EV cow for $1.2 billion

Demanding the impossible on power generation

Climate Cult 37 Comments
Boundary Dam Unit 3 capture plant. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Are the federal Clean Electricity Standards, brought in by Steven Guilbeault and Jonathan Wilkinson, impossible to meet? Pipeline Online asked SaskPower.

“The CER would require SaskPower to effectively rebuild our entire power system, through retiring the majority of our existing generating units and replacing them with new, ultra-low emitting units or non-emitting energy sources, while also growing the system to support expanding electricity needs that are expected to support growing demand for clean electricity for industrial needs, transportation, increased customer participation and other needs.”

Grand sweeping fairytales – Smith calls a spade a spade on renewables

Climate Cult 30 Comments

Danielle Smith: Grand sweeping fairytales that threaten Canadians ability to keep the lights on are no way to speed things up.

I’ll have more on that pretty impressive press conference as I have time.

As well, some oil companies aren’t doing too badly, as Saturn Oil & Gas reports it has tripled its production in a year.

Also, in last week’s Crown mineral rights land sale in Saskatchewan, one, singular exploration permit went for over $6 million. The last time I saw numbers like that for one piece of land was like during the Bakken boom of 2008. It’s simply unheard of in the last 15 years to see a single parcel, even an exploratory permit, go for that much. In recent years, we’d be lucky if a few dozen leases, combined, would make up a total of $6 million. So this is verrrrry interesting. It was near Kindersley, by the way.

Clean Electricity Regulations released: carbon capture or bust

Climate Cult 33 Comments
Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Luke Barber, Chief Operating Officer, University of Toronto and Scott Hendershot, Senior Manager, Sustainability Office, University of Toronto, standing together on a rooftop covered in solar panels. Government of Canada handout

Clean Electricity Regulations released: carbon capture needed for continued fossil fuel power generation. #Saskatchewan will not “defy the laws of thermodynamics,” says Premier Scott Moe.

I still need to dig deep into this. I’ve sent a list of questions to SaskPower and the provincial government seeking response next week, as this dropped just as we’re packing to head to the cabin. Because of course they would release it during the dog days of August.

Note: these regulations expect the electrical grid demand to grow by 2.5x in 26 years, three months and 21 days. Good luck with that. Expect a column next week.

Seeing the other side’s playbook – Project of the Century

Climate Cult 19 Comments

Ever want to see the other team’s playbook? Project of the Century (report link)– the most comprehensive discussion of energy transition we’ve seen to date, was published by the Public Policy Forum. It’s principally about doubling the electrical grid, or more, but doing so without increasing fossil fuel emissions. The dollar figure is up to $1.7 trillion – with a ‘t’ – mostly from federal taxpayer dollars.

Here’s the story on it:  https://pipelineonline.ca/project-of-the-century-the-most-comprehensive-discussion-of-energy-transition-weve-seen-to-date/

This is the closest I’ve seen to what the federal Liberal government is trying to accomplish with the “energy transition.” Some of Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson’s speech and discussion in Regina and Kipling at the end of June was almost word for word from this paper, before the paper was published.

This has huge implications for Saskatchewan and Alberta. Part of the interview focuses on how net zero by 2035 is impossible.

I spoke to the CEO and one of the authors on July 26. Here’s the in-depth interview. I’ll next be posting an analysis by Jim Warren on this, then likely one of my own.

Editor’s note: Pipeline Online has requested permission from the Public Policy Forum to publish the entire Project of the Century report, in serial form. That permission has not yet been granted, despite the Public Policy Forum’s webpage copyright notice stating, “The Public Policy Forum encourages interested parties to use, in whole or in part, its publications, data, images and other content to further dialogue on public policy in Canada. We require that the PPF is properly cited and acknowledged. In all instances, the PPF would like to be notified of the use of its publications and data.”  

They won’t give me a straight answer as to why they won’t let me publish it, when that is clearly their policy. Wonder why that is?

Update Aug. 8, 2023, 10:30 a.m. Since Pipeline Online made the above request, Public Policy Forum has updated its copyright notice. It now states, “Copyright – The Public Policy Forum retains copyright of our publications. For permission to publish a report excerpt, please contact us at: ppforum@ppforum.ca“

Again, wind power in Alberta drops to 0.8% capacity, three days after province puts brakes on development

Climate Cult 64 Comments

Sunday morning, Alberta’s wind generation dropped to 0.8 per cent, again. It’s actually around 2.5% at noon on Monday, but I don’t think I’m going to write that story. It was at similar levels on Saturday, too, so three days in a row, if you’re counting. On Thursday, the Alberta government put a six month pause on approvals for new wind and solar projects. There are still plenty in the works already, but does anyone think there’s finally a realization at the highest level these things don’t actually work?

Also, if anyone here has seen any other media reporting on this (wind power collapsing, again), I would love to see links in the comments. As far as I’ve seen, I’m the only media doing so in Western Canada.

Math on how Saskatchewan can grow a multi-billion dollar lithium industry

youmightbeinsaskatchewan 9 Comments

I’ve been talking for a while now about how lithium has to potential to become a multi-billion industry in Saskatchewan in a few years. Here’s a big chunk of how: Lithium in SK, Part 19: Grounded Lithium’s Kindersley project could cost $447 million to build, but bring in $350 million per year

Also, Brian Zinchuk on Gormley. Up for discussion this month: current oil prices and drilling activity, TC Energy spinning off the Keystone Pipeline system, Public Policy Forum’s paper on doubling the electrical grid, vilification of the oil sector.

And about those two billion trees…

 

TC Energy is dumping Keystone Pipeline in spinoff

Climate Cult Ethical Energy Galt 16 Comments
Keystone XL pipe, in 2011, that was never used. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

 

TC Energy, which I still think of as TranCanada, from back when I built pipelines for them, is spinning off its oil pipelines, which is principally the Keystone system.

I was searching for the best metaphor. “Like hot garbage,” kept coming to mind. I settled on dumping an ex-wife. My column on this: TC Energy dumping Keystone Pipeline like a despised, soon-to-be-ex-wife. The Keystone name is so verboten, it is barely mentioned in the press release or slide deck.

This is entirely because the anti-pipeline, anti-oil movement won on Keystone XL and Energy East. Can’tada and BANANAS USA won, and this is the result. (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone, Seriously, U Stup1d A@#$#@#)

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