ESTEVAN - The City of Estevan is welcoming Monday's announcement of additional coal transition funding from the provincial government.
The Government of Saskatchewan says it is contributing $5 million to each of the Estevan and Coronach regions to help build new economic opportunities and support their coal transition efforts.
The newly-announced funding, revealed Monday at an event in Coronach, is in addition to the $10 million from the provincial government in 2020 for the coal transition in the areas.
The $5 million for the Estevan area will go to the Municipal Coal Transition Committee, comprised of representatives from the City of Estevan, the Town of Bienfait, and the RMs of Estevan and Coalfields. As for the Coronach area, its $5 million will go to South Saskatchewan Ready, an economic partnership of nine rural communities and RMs in the Coronach region.
Both organizations will administer the new funding in partnership with local municipalities.
When the government announced the initial $10 million 4 1/2 years ago, the Estevan area received $8 million and the remaining $2 million went to the Coronach initiatives.
Coun. Lindsay Clark, who represented the City of Estevan at Monday's event, said the announcement was "very positive" for the communities affected by the shift away from conventional coal-fired power.
"It lets us continue to do things in the community that we need to do. Look for new opportunities and to carry on for some of the opportunities that are out there," said Clark.
He noted that the previous funding from the province was wrapping up.
Clark believes the amount for Estevan was reasonable. The Estevan area has been selected as the location for the province's first proposed small modular reactor (SMR) project, and if it goes ahead, it would make a big difference for the future of the community. Other projects are also in the works for the Estevan area, and Clark believes the needs of Coronach will exceed the Estevan area, at least in the short term.
"I think it's a workable amount," said Clark. "We'll work with the other RMs and the Town of Bienfait to see whether we are working together, and how we'll divide the money or how that will work. But that will be decided by the next council."
Some of the projects that have benefited from the $8 million in government funding were small ones, Clark said. Larger ones include working on the proposed coal-to-graphite project and the potential hydrogen hub project that would convert Estevan lignite coal to hydrogen.
"Those ones have more directly to do with what can we do with coal if we're not burning coal at the power plant," said Clark. "Those ones are the big ones that I think people will recognize, trying to find an alternate use [for coal]."
He expects the additional $5 million will be used to extend those programs, and to work with Gord More at the Southeast TechHub to see where his contacts can take the community for new ventures.
According to a government news release, as Saskatchewan continues its own plan to build out grid capacity to support growth, retaining and developing a skilled workforce and expertise through business opportunities in Estevan, Coronach and areas need to facilitate the energy transition.
“The province’s grant allocation into our community will allow Estevan to further invest in sustainable economic change and bring new opportunities in order to support its residents through a challenging time,” said Mayor Roy Ludwig in a news release. “The City of Estevan appreciates the provincial government’s ongoing support of our city and southeast Saskatchewan with community funding programs such as this.”
The city's news release goes on to say the funds will assist in furthering economic opportunities in the region to bridge the challenge of coal transition in Estevan and the surrounding region and contribute to a thriving business community.
