There could be more solar farms on the way for the southwest, as SaskPower posted a Request for Qualification (RFQ) for a 10-megawatt (MW) solar power project yesterday.

The project would be the second of its kind SaskPower has been involved with, as they push towards adding 60 MW of solar power to the provincial electricity grid by 2021.

"The RFQ basically narrows down the potential pool of bidders in the RPF (Request for Proposal) process," Joel Cherry, a spokesperson for SaskPower, said. "At that point, we're looking for some high-level information. Do you have financing that would allow you to do this? Is this something you've done before? That sort of thing. If they're selected to proceed to the RFP phase, at that point we will be looking for more detailed information related to the project."

Saturn Power was awarded the first SaskPower utility-scale solar-generation project and will be setting it up in the RM of Coulee by the end of 2020.

"The sunniest parts of the province tend to be south of Highway 1," Cherry said. "So those are the areas where a lot of bids end up coming in for. We can't say for certain where it's going to be, but if you want to have an efficient solar program it helps to have a lot of hours of sunlight in the year."

Thirty-four applications from the first RFQ moved on to the RFP process before Saturn Power was selected. This RFQ will be open until March 7.