ESTEVAN, Sask. — The new Turning Sun Solar facility southwest of Estevan has reached one milestone and another is expected to occur shortly, despite some weather delays in the late summer and early fall.
Devin Petteplace, director of corporate affairs for Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure LLC, said one of them is the construction of what he called "the Golden Row," which is the first completed row of panels at a solar farm. The vast majority of the solar power modules were on site as of the end of September.
The main power transformer is expected to be in place in the next month or so, he said.
"That's an extremely large milestone and checkpoint for the project's electrical setup," he said.
While precipitation has caused some delays, particularly in the late summer and early fall when the Estevan area received more rain than normal, the project is still scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2027. Weather has remained the biggest impediment to construction, he said.
"They continue to progress, but certainly weather makes for shorter days on site if the ground is extremely wet, so that's certainly been the biggest challenge to date."
Approximately 100 workers are currently at the site, which is approaching the expected peak of 150 during construction. Petteplace said the goal will be to complete as much work as possible on tasks that require digging and warmer conditions.
During the winter months, the construction crews will work on the elements that the weather will permit, he said, and then meet the key milestones on the project leading up to the 2027 commercial operation date.
The 100-megawatt Turning Sun Solar project is among the largest solar facilities in the province to date. Turning Sun is a partnership between Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure and Ocean Man First Nation. Once complete, the facility will produce power equivalent to what's needed for an average of 25,000 homes.
Construction on the project started in the spring and a groundbreaking ceremony was held in June.
 
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