Editing Boundary Dam

{{Infobox power station
| name            = Boundary Dam Unit 3 Carbon Capture and Storage Project
| name_official   = Boundary Dam Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration Project
| country         = Canada
| location        = Near Estevan, Saskatchewan
| coordinates     = {{coord|49|6|N|103|0|W|display=inline,title}}
| status          = Operational
| construction_began = 2011
| commissioning   = October 2014
| owner           = SaskPower
| operator        = SaskPower
| primary_fuel    = Lignite coal
| ps_units_manu   = Originally 139MW gross, refurbished to 160MW gross (Unit 3)
| ps_electrical_capacity = 110MW net after CCS retrofit
| technology      = Shell CANSOLVE
| website         = {{URL|https://www.saskpower.com/our-power-future/infrastructure-projects/carbon-capture-and-storage/boundary-dam-carbon-capture-project}}
}}

[[Category:CCS Projects]][[Category:Coal Power Generation]] [[Category: Shell CANSOLV]] 
'''Boundary Dam''' refers to the CCS project located at the Boundary Dam Power Station in Saskatchewan, Canada. The Boundary Dam Power Station is a [[Coal Power Generation|coal fired power plant]], generating power from the combustion of coal. Unit 3 specifically has had a [[Capture of Carbon Dioxide|CO<sub>2</sub> capture]] unit retrofitted to address emissions. The facility is owned by [[SaskPower]].

==History==
The Boundary Dam Power Station is a coal-fired power plant commissioned between 1959 and 1978, consisting of six units fired on locally mined lignite.<ref>About us - Power Generation Facilities: Baseload Thermal Stations: Boundary Dam. (2010). https://web.archive.org/web/20100105083637/http://saskpower.com/aboutus/corpinfo/power_generation_facilities/baseload_thermal_stations/boundary_dam.shtml</ref> Unit 3 entered service in 1970. In the mid-2000s SaskPower began assessing options to comply with new Canadian federal regulations that required refurbished coal units to produce power at less than 549 tonnes of CO<sub>2</sub> per GWh or be subject to carbon taxes.<ref>BD3 Status Update: Q3 2025. (2025). https://saskpower.com/about-us/our-company/blog/2025/bd3-status-update-q3-2025</ref>

In 2008, the Government of Saskatchewan announced a major reconstruction and repowering of Unit 3 as a flagship CCS demonstration, supported by federal funding of C$240million from the Government of Canada.<ref>Boundary Dam Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration Project. (2013). https://natural-resources.canada.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/energy/files/pdf/11-1438_eng_acc.pdf</ref>

Construction of the capture plant and repowering of Unit 3 began in 2011. The project reached mechanical completion in 2014 and was officially commissioned on 2 October 2014, becoming the first operating commercial-scale CCS project on a coal-fired power plant worldwide.<ref name=IEAGHGBD3>IEAGHG, "Integrated CCS Project at SaskPower’s Boundary Dam Power Station", 2015-06. (2016). https://ieaghg.org/publications/integrated-ccs-project-at-saskpowers-boundary-dam-power-station/</ref>

In 2016 SaskPower and BHP Billiton established the International CCS Knowledge Centre in Regina to capture and share lessons from BD3 and to support future large-scale CCS projects with expert technical knowledge.<ref>BHP Billiton and SaskPower Establish Carbon Capture and Storage Knowledge Centre. (2016). https://www.bhp.com/news/media-centre/releases/2016/02/bhp-billiton-and-saskpower-establish-carbon-capture-and-storage-knowledge-centre</ref>

==CCS Project==

===Capture===

===Transport===

===Storage===

''Main Article: [[Weyburn Field]] & [[Midale Field]], [[Aquistore]]'' 

The CO<sub>2</sub> from Boundary Dam Unit 3 is primarily stored in the Weyburn and Midale fields through Enhanced Oil Recovery, with a portion stored in the Aquistore research facility.

==Technology==
The plant uses the [[Shell CANSOLV]] absorption technology to extract CO<sub>2</sub> from the flue gas of Unit 3. The capture system treats the entirety of the flue gas stream.

==Costs==
SaskPower have reported that the 

Estimates for capital expenditure related to the new compression equipment, transport, and injection systems range from '''XXX''' to '''XXX'''

==Performance==
The plant has a rated capacity of

In a 2025 webinar, a SaskPower representative indicated that the plant was intentionally running at 80% capacity, with the reason given that...

==Future Plans==
The Boundary Dam Unit 3 CCS project was originally envisaged as a potential first step towards broader deployment of CCS across SaskPower’s coal fleet, including possible retrofits at Boundary Dam Units 4 and 5 and at other coal plants in Saskatchewan.<ref name=IEAGHGBD3 /> However, in 2018 SaskPower announced that it would not pursue CCS retrofits on Units 4 and 5, citing the age and relatively small size of the units and the availability of alternative low-emission generation options.<ref>Global News, "SaskPower not moving ahead with further carbon capture projects at Boundary Dam 4 and 5", 2018. https://globalnews.ca/news/4320715/saskpower-not-moving-ahead-with-further-carbon-capture-projects-at-boundary-dam/</ref>

Long-term operation of Unit 3 with CCS will depend on economic factors (including CO<sub>2</sub> sales and any future carbon pricing), regulatory requirements, and the remaining life of Unit 3 itself, which is subject to Canadian coal regulations.

==Reception==

==References==
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