A bevy of new renewable energy sources across the province including several in southwestern Saskatchewan will help save SaskPower customers some dough in 2022.

Next week the federal government's carbon tax will jump from $40 to $50 per tonne but SaskPower ratepayers won't experience that rise in large part due to a sizeable uptick in renewable energy being connected to the power grid.

"The tax on our emissions is increasing but we're changing the way that we're generating power," SaskPower Spokesperson Joel Cherry said. "We're adding a significant amount of renewable energy to the grid next year, almost 400 megawatts of wind and solar energy. We also have an improved forecast for hydro generation."

Other factors that helped the crown corporation negate a rate hike included being ahead of schedule to slash their emissions by 50 per cent from 2005 to 2030 and they recently retired a coal unit.

Some of the renewable energy being hooked up to the grid in the southwest include; the Riverhurst Wind Farm (10 megawatts), the Golden South Wind Project (200 megawatts), and the Highfield Solar Facility (10 megawatts).

"I think our rule of thumb for wind is about half of baseload [generation] so instead of a 10-megawatt facility being enough for 10,000 homes, it would be more like 5,000, again that's just a rough outline," he said. "In terms of output for solar, it's slightly lower because you can't generate at night."

Since January 1, 2019, the carbon tax has risen $10 per tonne annually beginning at $20 per tonne, however, in 2023 that yearly rate increase will be $15 per tonne until it reaches $170 per tonne in 2030.

"In the coming years we will have to assess that on an annual basis," Cherry said in regards to a carbon tax-related rate increase for 2023. "We will have to look at our generation profile and our projections and the carbon tax increases... But I can't say for certain what next year [2023] will look like."

SaskPower is aiming to be net-neutral emissions-wise by 2050.