It was an idea that started back in 2009, but now you can see 50 windmill-style turbines towering over the Town of Assiniboia. 

Assiniboia Mayor Sharon Schauenberg shared an update on the project. 

“There are 50 windmills up now. Most of them are running and operational. I think we're still missing a few transformers, but the majority of them, I would say 90 per cent of them, are up and running,” she said. 

The project, headed by Potentia Renewable, broke ground five kilometres south of Assiniboia in August of 2019. 

Despite a few delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic for materials that were shipped from overseas, the project is, more or less, completed and the vast majority of the workers have moved on to other projects. 

During its peak, the project proved to have a huge economic spin-off for Assiniboia, especially during the pandemic. 

“When businesses were closing in other communities, we stayed strong and yes, we did have our challenges, but with the injection of many people and employees and workers filling our hotels and motels and some of our rental properties and shopping local, that continued to sustain us,” Schauenberg said. 

The Golden South Wind Project is slated to be one of the largest wind farms in Saskatchewan, taking up 34,000 acres of leased farmland and generating 200 Megawatts of wind power to the province, the equivalent of powering 90,000 homes. 

Potentia Renewables has a 25-year contract to sell electricity to SaskPower with Golden South having a lifespan of 25 to 30 years.