Murray Wood: Who's hot and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot and who's not. This week's list includes...
Premier Brad Wall feels his time at the climate change summit in Paris was well spent.
Wall went to promote SaskPower’s carbon capture and storage project at Boundary Dam 3 as a solution to emissions from coal-fired plants.
The technology has come under criticism recently for failing to meet targets, not meet capacity nor justify its $1.4-billion price tag.
Wall maintains the delegates he has met and talked to from around the world recognize that new technologies like this won’t be without its hurdles.
“This is a large-scale project that is not without its challenges and frankly, is meeting those challenges,” Wall told reporters via teleconference from Paris.
Renewed interest
As more of the undeveloped countries begin further industrialization, more greenhouse gases are likely to be emitted.
It is believed carbon capture could be the answer to that.
“The interest has continued, there is an understanding in the rest of the world, and I have seen it first hand here, that this is leading technology,” Wall said.
After one particular presentation with a panel, that include SaskPower president Mike Marsh, India has approached the Crown to learn more about carbon capture and storage.
India is about to embark on building another coal plant. The meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday.
The province says 60,000 tonnes of C02 have been captured since the carbon capture and storage came back online last month. Five-hundred-thousand tonnes have been captures since the project began.
Dissenting voice
Brad Wall is now the only right-leaning premier in Canada and there has been some comment that when it comes to issues of energy and climate change he is the dissenting voice among his counterparts.
Wall insists he certainly doesn’t get that sense around the table and that Saskatchewan is a fully-engaged partner.
“I raised with one of the other provinces that is looking at large solar as well, that maybe we should approach solar like we have pharmaceuticals. Can we jointly procure some things to save money for our respective utilities and therefore ratepayers, the people of our provinces.”
Wall contends that is what he wants to focus on and not “what the other kids in class think about me”.
