Tag: wind turbines

Sask NDP’s big plan for the electrical grid: Hint – lots of wind and solar, and natural gas

I spent 11 hours working on this story, which I broke into four parts. These are the first two, the next two will come out early next week.

The NDP again want to see coal-fired power go away, “as practical.” The want to convert coal plants to natural gas, even though Saskatchewan has lots of coal but not much in the way of natural gas anymore. We drilled ten gas wells over the last decade, and Alberta did that many by noon today.

There is of course the obligatory massive buildout of wind and solar, and storage. And just coincidentally, three hours after the press conference, wind output in Alberta fell to next to nothing, again.

Digging deep on the NDP’s “Grid & Growth” plan for Saskatchewan’ electrical grid, Part 1

Part 2: Nuclear

NDP want to increase net-metering rate

Also:

Jim Warren: A History of Oil Production and Price Crises 1973-1991

No business case, indeed

Remember when Germany came to Canada for LNG, and Trudeau took their Chancellor to Newfoundland for wind-generated hydrogen?
N.L. vows to chase wind-hydrogen companies for $34.5 million in overdue land fees.

 

And regarding wind power generation, I just posted this.

For 52 minutes straight on Saturday, Alberta’s 1760 wind turbines had zero output and couldn’t charge a cellphone

…. and its’s still showing zero right now, for at least another 24 minutes, and counting.

If you don’t breathe for 12 hours, do you ask about a good day?

Saskatchewan saw zero wind power for 17 hours over two days.

Hilariously, a Saskatchewan doctor commented on Facebook re this story, “Are you able to share the data for a day where we had good wind production too, for comparison sake?”

I responded, “Doctor, when you look at a patient, do you say, “Let’s look at a day when he’s breathing, because on this day for 12 hours he wasn’t breathing?”

“You don’t judge critical systems by their good days, but their worst. You of all people should know that.”

Related:

NDP calls SaskPower rate hike “fiscal trainwreck,” Minister calls it “modest” compared to the alternative.

Time to make bank

Saskatchewan-Alberta electrical intertie soon to be up and running, after being down nearly a year

So it turns out Alberta often gives away power for free when there’s lots of wind, and pays through the nose when there’s no wind. Unfortunately for the last year the only intertie connecting Alberta and Saskatchewan grids has been down. In the coming days it should be back, and Saskatchewan will again have the opportunity to make bank off Alberta’s interesting buy high, sell low strategy.

 

Break out the baloney!

Just in case you were wondering…

If your turkey relied on wind power this Thanksgiving in Alberta, you’d be eating baloney sandwiches

 

Also:

Energy Realities Podcast: China v. America on Rare Earth and Critical Energy Minerals

Dr. Tammy Nemeth says, “In the end, who is the beneficiary of not allowing the West to build up its supply chains? It’s China.”

Maybe Saskatchewan needs to get moving on that whole rare earths thing. Lithium, too. Gotta power those iPhones.

That’s one way to lose an election

Brian Zinchuk: How messing with power pricing will get the  Alberta UCP unelected in a few easy steps. 
Some poor bastards, also known as the Alberta ratepayers and Alberta industry, get to pay those rates. And just as sometimes the wholesale price goes to $999.99 per megawatt-hour now, it will go to $2999.99 per megawatt-hour in 2032. And somebody has to pay that. If you live in Wild Rose country, that somebody will be you.
Oh, and the NDP point out, correctly, that oil prices are a lot lower than the Saskatchewan budget predicted.

Who needed power on Labour Day, anyhow?

Alberta wind power generation took a holiday on Labour Day

Throughout the day, wind output from the 1722 wind turbines (at last count) totalling 5,688 megawatts of total generation capacity hovered around the 1 per cent output mark, ranging from 1.9 to 0.8 per cent.

 

A “Dialectic on Energy Policy” with a former pipeline CEO vs. sustainable development exec

On July 27, the Midwest Legislators Conference in Saskatoon held a “Dialectic on Energy Policy,” essentially a debate on energy choices in a world focused on climate change. Hal Kvisle, former CEO of TransCanada Pipeline/TC Energy was on the right side of the debate and Louise Miltich came from the left.

 

Brian Zinchuk on Evan Bray Show: Multilaterals, coal revival, major projects and more

On Sept. 3, Evan Bray and Brian Zinchuk go over the growing impact of large multilateral wells, LNG, the new major projects office, Alberta electrical grid updates, coal revival and more.

Someone noticed

Also: Fireside chat about the coal injunction

The people behind the injunction are against the expansion of natural gas-fired power generation, against the continuation of coal-fired power generation, and also against nuclear power. So what’s left?

And – Wind in Alberta bottoms out three times over the last week

LNG Canada goes online and how that impacts Saskatchewan

First ship leaving LNG Canada. LNG Canada photo

LNG Canada ships first cargo, making Canada a global player.

I provide some analysis on how this will impact Saskatchewan in the first part of the story.

Also:

Poilievre posts “Meet Hardisty” video about and its importance to Canada

Donald Trump’s disdain for wind energy could create windfall for Nova Scotia: experts

Energy Realities Podcast: Geopolitical issues and oil. Some interesting discussion about Carney killing the digital services tax to placate Trump, forgoing this thing called “rule of law.”

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