Construction begins on Dundonald solar farm in Saskatoon

Scott Larson · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 17, 2025 5:38 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Saskatoon is lighting up its powerfulness grid with its archetypal utility-scale star facility.

Construction has started connected the 2.8-megawatt star project, located connected astir 14 acres of onshore betwixt the CN railway tracks and the Circle Drive S. freeway, eastbound of Dundonald Avenue and southbound of 11th Street West.

Jose Cheruvallath, the city's metering and sustainable energy manager, said the tract is perfect for the $3.3-million project.

"One of the much salient features of the tract is the information that it couldn't beryllium utilized for thing else," Cheruvallath said. "It's presently vacant and it has fantabulous southbound exposure."

The star farm, which should beryllium up and moving by the extremity of the year, is expected to trim energy emissions by astir 20,000 tonnes of c dioxide implicit its 30-year lifetime.

The constrictive portion of onshore is to person 5,000 star panels and nutrient capable procreation capableness to powerfulness much than 400 homes.

"We're estimating this [solar farm] to prevention astir $300,000 each twelvemonth implicit the beingness of 30 years," helium said.

"That would assistance pay for the task and assistance replenish immoderate plus absorption considerations down the road."

Cheruvallath said this is the 2nd large renewable task for the city, the archetypal being the Landfill Gas Collection & Power Generation System, which began operation successful 2014 .

"We're going to larn from each portion [of the project], including its design, its operation and its operating and maintenance," helium said. "Hopefully we tin instrumentality that cognition and use it astatine different sites."

The star panels and electrical components volition beryllium installed ince gates, fencing and information are successful place.

The tract volition besides diagnostic autochthonal grasses and flowers, with vines planted on the existing northwest chain-link fence.

The metropolis says operation volition not interaction postulation flow, though adjacent communities volition get impermanent sound and vibration during construction.

The task is funded successful portion by the provincial and national governments.