SaskPower and Lehigh Hanson Materials Limited have signed a 10-year contract, which gives Lehigh the exclusive rights to market fly ash from the Boundary Dam Power Station near Estevan.

Based in Edmonton, Lehigh is a world leader in construction materials like cement and concrete.

Each year, SaskPower sells between 110,000 and 135,000 tonnes of fly ash (a fine powder by¬product of coal combustion) from its Boundary Dam and Shand Power stations. Last year, the corporation began an ongoing expansion project to more than triple the fly ash storage capacity at Boundary Dam.

"With more storage capacity and the increasingly steady demand for the high quality fly ash from Boundary Dam, we were looking for a company that could help us maximize our fly ash sales," said SaskPower president and CEO Robert Watson. "Lehigh has the industry relationships, market expertise and distribution infrastructure to better serve existing customers and provide a way to tap into new sales markets."

"Lehigh Hanson is excited to be part of Saskatchewan's economic growth by selling and distributing fly ash from Boundary Dam Power Station to markets across Canada and into the United States," said Lehigh president Jim M. Derkatch. "Saskatchewan has taken its rightful place as part of Canada's economic engine and we're proud to support it by investing in the construction of a world¬class storage facility in southern Saskatchewan."

SaskPower has been selling fly ash since the late 1960s to the concrete and roadway industries. The fly ash from Boundary Dam is primarily used in ready¬mix concrete and precast structures like concrete blocks, pipes and paving stones. Last year SaskPower fly ash sales from Shand and Boundary Dam generated a net income of $6.2 million. SaskPower expects the net income from Boundary Dam fly ash sales to more than double through the course of the contract with Lehigh.

"We've increased our use of environmentally responsible power sources, like wind, but the fact is that coal will continue to be a major source of Saskatchewan's electricity supply for some time to come," Watson added. "By capturing and recycling the fly ash we can use our province's abundant coal reserves in a more sustainable manner. Each tonne of fly ash we capture and sell avoids roughly one tonne of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere."

The SaskPower/Lehigh sales agreement went into effect February 1. Customers have been notified, and their accounts transferred to Lehigh to provide a seamless transition.