The southeast corner of Saskatchewan is well known for the amount of sunshine the region receives each year. For those in the renewable resource industry, in particular, solar energy, it could be considered the equivalent of striking gold.

Pesâkâstêw Solar Limited Partnership is a joint venture involving Red Dog Holdings, George Gordon Developments, and Natural Forces, a company based out of Halifax. They are in the process of getting a solar energy project off the ground in the Rural Municipality of Weyburn, and were in the community this week, ahead of a planned open house next month.

“This is a 10-megawatt solar project, so it’s a big utility-scale project that will be able to produce electricity for about 2300 homes in the area,” explained Amy Pellerin, a development engineer with Natural Forces.

The project is expected to get underway in the fall of 2020, and for a project on this scale, it means more than likely, there will be a number of jobs created during the construction process.

“When construction starts, we are going to be looking at hiring local contractors for the work, and also including some of our partners that will be owning the project into the construction as well,” Pellerin added.

Ahead of the start of the work with the project, the team from Pesâkâstêw has been meeting with community leaders in the R.M. of Weyburn, and in the City of Weyburn.

They will be holding an open house to provide more information to the general public in the coming weeks. It is scheduled for March 6th, at Captain’s Hall in Weyburn from 3:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.