Sask. First Nation 'kicking up the dust' with flare gas-to-power facility
A new flare gas-to-power facility is the latest venture added to Flying Dust First Nation’s (FDFN) portfolio of businesses, bringing their goal of economic independence one step closer.
With assistance from the province, FDFN and partner Genalta Power signed a 20-year power purchase agreement for a 15-megawatt flare gas-to-power facility near Coleville, Sask. in mid-November.
The Kopahawakenum Flare to Power Facility (KFP), Cree for "Kicking up the Dust,” will be built north of Kindersley, Sask.
The construction of the KFP plant will create 50 jobs on site during construction. Once in operation, it will employ about 20 staff.
"This project will provide much needed own-source revenue to our community and membership for years to come,” said Chief Jeremy Norman in a news release about the signing.
FDFN has about 1,570 members living on-reserve and 600 living off-reserve. FDFN began economic development in 1988 and today it owns and co-owns 18 companies.
Those businesses include property management, construction, engineering, environment, sand and gravel, retail, security and an oil company.
“Our long term goal is to create employment and revenue number one, number two and three is to have sustainable long-term businesses,” said FDFN economic development officer Albert Derocher.
Derocher says the FDFN Holding Company directly employs 120 people and in total FDFN employs 240 people.
“We are underfunded so that’s one of the reasons why we generate as much revenue as we can to supplement,” said Derocher.
Derocher says education, health and buildings are some of the areas the band has had to generate revenue in order to improve services and facilities for band members.
About 10 per cent of the revenue from the KFP power plant will be directed to FDFN.
One percent of the revenue from KFP will go into a scholarship fund for their post-secondary students.
When the project is complete in 2023, it will be the largest flare-gas-to-power operation in the province, producing 15 MW of electricity - enough to supply about 9,000 Saskatchewan homes.
The province estimates it represents about $30 million of capital investment into Saskatchewan.
Genalta Power estimates the KFP facility will require about four million cubic feet of gas per day, resulting in the reduction of around 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.
The fuel source for the plant is flare gas or vent methane from the oil industry.
“Vent volumes are predominantly methane and that has a much higher impact on greenhouse gas effects than pure CO2. By removing that we are removing what we consider CO2 emissions from the atmosphere,” said Genalta Power President and CEO Paul Miller.
The engines do create carbon dioxide when burning but now the energy from the flare gas will be used to make electricity, says Miller.
“We’re improving the overall utilization of energy for every barrel that’s being extracted from the ground,” Miller said.
Genalta Power has built 10 waste-to-power facilities in Alberta, including Peace River and White Court.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.