Wind can be very unpredictable, especially in a province with the slogan “Land of the Living Skies”. In 2006, Cowessess First Nation worked with the Saskatchewan Research Council on a Wind Study to determine whether a lithium ion battery storage would moderate wind volatility. To address the wind’s sudden and frequent increases and decreases the addition of a lithium ion battery can indeed store excess power when the wind is high and disperse the stored power when the wind is low, in the attempt to maintain a smooth stream of energy onto the grid. Moreover, the stored energy could also be sent to the grid to be utilized at peak times when energy is most in demand. The results from this study proved a viable business case for the project and informed the current location of the Wind Turbine.

After the study, Cowessess First Nation set out to secure funding aside from their own substantial capital investment of $1.8 million. SRC, in turn, invested $180,000 in the project in exchange for an interest in the intellectual property. Other funders included, Natural Resource Canada’s Clean Energy Fund ($2.78M), AANDC ($248,000), Saskatchewan’s Go Green Program ($1.39M). 

Construction of the Wind and Storage Demonstration Project began in August 2012. The site was fully commissioned by May 2013 and a 1MW (one megawatt) 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with SaskPower was secured.