en.Wedoany.com Reported - Recently, the Turning Sun solar project in Saskatchewan, Canada, held a groundbreaking ceremony, with the Canadian federal government announcing a CAD 15 million funding contribution to the project. Located in the Rural Municipality of Estevan in southeastern Saskatchewan, the project has a planned AC capacity of 100 megawatts, making it one of the larger ground-mounted utility-scale solar projects in the province.
The Turning Sun solar project is being advanced by Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure in partnership with the Ocean Man Nakoda Nation, with 10% Indigenous ownership. It has secured an exclusive Power Purchase Agreement with SaskPower, Saskatchewan's provincial electric utility. Upon completion, the project is planned to be built and operated under a 25-year agreement, with the generated electricity feeding into the local power grid, sufficient to meet the equivalent electricity needs of approximately 25,000 households. The project site covers about 550 acres, located approximately 8 kilometers southwest of the City of Estevan. It is planned to be equipped with approximately 181,000 bifacial solar modules, 27 inverters, and one high-voltage transformer, along with approximately 12 kilometers of fencing. Barton Malow Canada serves as the EPC contractor for the construction phase, which is expected to last up to 18 months, with a peak on-site workforce of approximately 150 people. During the project development phase, all relevant federal, provincial, and municipal permits were obtained, and technical assessments for environmental impact, glare, noise, and weed management were completed, providing the prerequisites for entering substantive construction.
Saskatchewan's economy has long been based on fossil energy, power generation, and agricultural resources. Adjusting the power structure requires balancing stable electricity supply, cost control, and the addition of new clean power sources. The uniqueness of the Turning Sun project lies in integrating large-scale solar development, Indigenous equity participation, local employment, and a long-term power purchase mechanism within a single project framework. For the grid side, the 100 MW solar facility can increase low-cost daytime electricity supply, alleviating some of the supply pressure from new load growth. For the local community, the project's construction and operation will bring multiple impacts, including road upgrades, job creation, land use changes, and long-term revenue distribution. Road improvement work in the project area has already been completed. Subsequent construction will focus on module installation, inverter and step-up transformer integration, electrical interconnection, communication control, site security, and commissioning and grid connection. This will also drive demand for local engineering services, civil construction, electrical installation, and operations and maintenance training.
Canada is advancing the expansion and decarbonization of its power system, with a federal goal of doubling grid capacity by 2050. The groundbreaking of the Turning Sun project adds a highly visible utility-scale solar benchmark for Saskatchewan. Future project variables will center on construction progress, equipment delivery, commissioning and grid connection, SaskPower interconnection arrangements, and long-term operational performance. If it proceeds as planned, the project will enhance local renewable energy supply in Saskatchewan and provide a new reference for building large-scale clean energy projects in Canada's prairie provinces through Indigenous partnership models.
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