SaskPower and the provincial government will take more time before making a decision on a second phase of a carbon capture project at Boundary Dam Power Station.聽
A decision on whether to proceed on a retrofit of Units 4 and 5 to capture noxious gases, including carbon dioxide, won鈥檛 be made until 2017.
The decision was announced by SaskPower president Mike Marsh, who said the company wanted to monitor the current carbon capture technology deployed on the first capture island installed on Boundary Dam鈥檚 Unit 3 electrical generator. The president said it was preferable to have 鈥渁 year of stable operation at maximum performance, or near-maximum, to really test the technology and the commercial viability going forward.鈥澛�
When these facts are gathered, then SaskPower officials and partners will make the business case.聽
A decision on retrofitting coal-fired power plants will have to be made no later than 2019 to comply with federal regulations.聽
An original proposal to make a decision for Units 4 and 5 by 2016 was never a firm one, based on the fact that the carbon capture technology and commercial-sized construction on Unit 3 was the first one of its kind in the world, said company officials.聽
NDP environment critic Cathy Sproule said the delay in the decision-making was outrageous and added that if SaskPower and others hadn鈥檛 figured it out yet, there would be a lot of concerns surrounding this project.聽
