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Residents of Descharme Lake are drawing their electricity from SaskPower’s first-ever independent community power system.
SaskPower’s Descharme Lake Microgrid is now online, combining solar power with battery storage and backup diesel generation to provide power for the roughly 20 people in the community, which is located about 95 kilometres north of La Loche.
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According to the Crown corporation, the new system – which includes 474 solar panels, 96 lithium phosphate batteries and a pair of diesel generators – will replace a 60-year-old power line that stretches 96 kilometres to the northern community.
The microgrid was designed and built through a contract with the Saskatchewan Research Council.
On most days, more than 80 per cent of the power coming from the microgrid will be solar, SaskPower explained. Excess energy is stored in the batteries, “which can provide about 24 hours of power to the community on one charge,” while the diesel generation will kick in when the batteries are running low.
Rupen Pandya, SaskPower’s CEO, said the project will “provide us with valuable experience and insight as we consider whether microgrids are an option for other remote locations in our province.” (Saskatchewan Research Council)
SaskPower said the diesel generators will only need to run for about eight to 12 hours every other day during the winter.
“The Descharme Lake Microgrid will lower maintenance costs and reduce vegetation management requirements while improving reliability for customers year-round and in all weather conditions,” Rupen Pandya, SaskPower’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
“Operating this system will also provide us with valuable experience and insight as we consider whether microgrids are an option for other remote locations in our province.”
