Alberta pension fund buys stake in wind power projects at southern end of province
by The Canadian Press
The two planned clean power projects near Pincher Creek, Alta. were selected in the recent government auction
The projects are planned for Pincher Creek, Alta. and were part of the province’s recent round of clean power procurement. PHOTO: CanWEA
CALGARY—The firm that administers more than $100 billion in Alberta government pensions and other funds says it is buying substantial stakes in two wind power projects that just received 20-year power price guarantees from the province.
The Alberta Investment Management Corporation or AIMCo says it has struck a deal with a subsidiary of Rome-based global power company Enel to buy 49 per cent ownership of the projects to be constructed near Pincher Creek in southern Alberta.
No financial details were released. The two projects are expected to have the capacity between them to produce 145.6 megawatts of electricity.
Enel was one of three companies chosen in December by the Alberta government through an auction process. They are to build four wind power projects with capacity of almost 600 megawatts of electricity at a total cost of about $1 billion.
The other winning bids came from Edmonton-based Capital Power and Portugal-based EDP Renewables.
The province, which announced details of its second and third renewable power auctions on Monday, wants to add up to 5,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2030 through private sector investment of about $10 billion.
