SaskPower begins $514 million expansion to power plant

- Construction of a $514 million expansion project begins today at the Queen Elizabeth Power Station in Saskatoon that will add enough capacity to power an additional 205,000 homes.

“The expansion project at Queen Elizabeth is another example of how SaskPower is investing in the province’s future,” said SaskPower President and CEO Robert Watson. “This is part of our long term plan to renew and rebuild our electrical system so that we can meet Saskatchewan’s needs today and in the years ahead.”

The project will see the “D” Plant at the natural gas facility converted from simple cycle to combined cycle. Combined cycle facilities are 10-15 per cent more efficient than simple cycle gas turbines.

Simple cycle gas turbines generate electricity by turning the turbine using hot gas produced during the combustion process. This type of electricity generation is best for meeting peak loads, such as hotter periods in the summer or colder periods in the winter.

The exhaust air from a combustion turbine is typically very hot 450-600°C and contains useful energy. Large-scale systems will often add a cycle that converts the heat of the combustion turbine exhaust to create steam, which can be used in a secondary steam turbine generator.

The station was officially commissioned in 1959, and has a net capacity of 430 megawatts MW. After the expansion, an additional 205 MW will be added.

Site construction recently began today and is expected to be complete by July 2015. The new plant will be commissioned in September 2015.