If there鈥檚 one thing that will get people to come to a meeting in Estevan these days, it鈥檚 economic development. With the elephant in the room 小蓝视频 the future of coal-fired electrical power generation, there seems to be an ever-increasing interest in what the community is doing about its future.
That was evident on Jan. 8 during the Estevan Chamber of Commerce鈥檚 Coffee Talk with the city鈥檚 economic development co-ordinator Dwight Bramble. Fifty-seven people were in attendance at the Days Inn, nearly filling the room. As Mayor Roy Ludwig said later, 鈥淓very meeting, there鈥檚 more people coming. We鈥檙e looking at that as a positive.鈥�
Bramble spoke for half an hour about the various and numerous economic initiatives the city has been pursuing. And he alluded to that elephant, implying that the years 2021 and 2024 will be significant. Those are the expected shutdown dates of two coal-fired units at Boundary Dam Power Station.
He noted that $25 million has been allocated for communities transitioning out of coal, and for Estevan, that meant hiring a coal transition co-ordinator.
As for economic development initiatives, Bramble touched on many. The city is working on a business resources centre/incubator to support local small business.
鈥淲e expect it will expand into something bigger,鈥� he said, adding more details are expected at the end of January.
The economic transition committee has had involvement from the federal and provincial governments, the coal mines, SaskPower, coal and power unions.
鈥淓stevan has some natural challenges. We really have to convince people to come here,鈥� he said. To that end, Bramble went on trade missions to both the Netherlands and Vietnam. The Netherlands visit, which included the mayor, was meant to connect with compatible businesses along with the city鈥檚 five priorities. Those are agri-value, greenhouses, geothermal, manufacturing and warehousing.
The Vietnam visit referenced the possibility of selling coal to that burgeoning economy. Indeed, immediately after the coffee talk, Bramble had to leave to take part in a tour of Estevan鈥檚 coal facilities with someone from Vietnam. He added Westmoreland Mining already sells coal to Japan from an Alberta mine.
Bramble spoke of greenhouse development in the future. One of Estevan鈥檚 advantages in this facet is the amount of sunlight it receives.听
Along those lines, the city has worked with Saturn Power to submit a 10-megawatt solar plant proposal to SaskPower.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been in contact with several cannabis companies, including Invictus, Aurora and Canopy,鈥� he said. The discussions are more about a processing facility for waste material as opposed to growing, as that market may already be saturated.
Craft brewing/distilling is another opportunity, according to Bramble.
He also mentioned the possibility of increased flight training at Estevan鈥檚 airport.
Nuclear power generation with small modular reactors is another front he鈥檚 working on. 鈥淲e have the grid here already and the infrastructure to support that type of industry,鈥� he said.听听听
Ludwig pointed out it would be at least 10 years from a commitment to an operating nuclear facility.听
鈥淲e plan to engage in a prolific marketing strategy. We cannot sit back and wait for people to come to us. We have to go and sell Estevan,鈥� Bramble said.
The city is working on a strategic plan for 2020 which Bramble referenced several times. He noted that local involvement is paramount.
鈥淚 know there are a lot of concerns here. I would like to suggest we make our dreams bigger than our fears,鈥� Bramble said. 鈥淲e are always going to issues that we have don鈥檛 have control over, that we can鈥檛 predict the future. But we can dream. We can dream big.
鈥淲e have to be willing to change. We have to be willing to do things different. If we continue to do what we鈥檝e always done, we will continue to get what we鈥檝e always got.鈥�
Asked where the oil industry is in this, Bramble said those Vietnam investors are interested in purchasing oil from here.
City manager Jeff Ward added the city is talking to oil companies about establishing field offices here.
Ludwig said the city is getting involved with Whitecap Resources, which has previously expressed an interest in acquiring more carbon dioxide for its enhanced oil recovery project in the Weyburn Unit.
Other members of the economic development committee piped up. Josh Biggs said, 鈥淲e鈥檝e talked about warehousing and manufacturing,鈥� noting it would be oil-related.
Josh LeBlanc said, 鈥淚t would be irresponsible to not look at diversification, so we don鈥檛 experience what we鈥檙e experiencing now, the booms and busts.鈥�
He implored the community to get involved. 鈥淲e need more of an outcry from you guys. Oil is out of our control. We need the community to rally together. I鈥檝e been saying this for two years.鈥�
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