Green Power Flowing at SaskPower Wind Project

SASKATCHEWAN -- Nine more state of the art wind turbines are now feeding electricity to the SaskPower grid and supplying an additional 5.9 megawatts of GreenPower to Saskatchewan consumers. Premier Lorne Calvert helped celebrate the completion of the Cypress Wind Power Facility.

"Saskatchewan is now clearly a leader in Canada in terms of wind and other alternative energy projects. Building on the success of the Cypress Wind Power Facility, we will continue to develop innovative technologies right here in Saskatchewan to meet our energy needs in the safest, most reliable and environmentally friendly ways," said Premier Lorne Calvert.

"Along with the environmental benefits, harnessing the wind has already brought far-reaching economic benefits to the province, with more than one-third of the work conducted on the Cypress project having a Saskatchewan component. That translates to approximately a $4.1 million financial injection into the provincial economy," Calvert added.

The Cypress Wind Turbine Facility is located approximately 12 kilometres southwest of Gull Lake. The nine turbines, powered only by south-west Saskatchewan's well-known wind, now gives Saskatchewan a second wind power facility and makes the province the third largest wind power producer in Canada.

Combined with the electricity being purchased from the SunBridge project, SaskPower now has 17 megawatts of green power - enough to serve about 7,000 Saskatchewan homes.

GreenPower is currently available to all Saskatchewan customers, from large industrial users to small businesses and residential customers. Long-term commitments by the Government of Saskatchewan, the Government of Canada and SaskPower, along with major customers such as SaskEnergy and the University of Regina, have supported these wind power projects.

On November 29, Peter Prebble, Legislative Secretary to the Premier for Energy Conservation will be hosting an event in Gull Lake with the people of the Gull Lake and Carmichael areas to celebrate the completion of the facility and to thank them for their support of the project.

SOURCE: SaskPower