EDP Renewables SA (EDPR), through its fully owned subsidiary EDP Renewables Canada Ltd. (EDPR Canada), and TC Energy Corp. have executed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for 100% of the output of the 297 MW Sharp Hills Wind Farm, located in the Special Areas municipality near the hamlets of Sedalia and New Bridgen, in the province of Alberta.
The PPA will enable the continued development and eventual construction and operations of the wind farm, subject to customary regulatory approvals and conditions.
“I want to commend TC Energy and EDP Renewables for their commitment to diversifying Alberta’s energy mix,” says Dale Nally, associate minister of natural gas and electricity. “Our province continues to experience significant investment growth in market-based renewable energy as a result of our commitment to an openly competitive electricity market. As a result, Albertans can count on new investments to power our economy while lowering emissions for decades to come.”
The 297 MW Sharp Hills Wind Farm is anticipated to be operational in 2023 and will deliver economic benefits to the local project communities and the province of Alberta in the form of payments to local landowners and property tax revenue to the Special Area Board. In addition to all the power produced by the Sharp Hills Wind Farm, TC Energy will receive rights to all environmental attributes.
“This agreement, which is Alberta’s largest power purchase agreement for wind, is an important step as TC Energy continues to build its renewable energy portfolio,” states Corey Hessen, TC Energy’s senior vice president and president of power and storage. “This wind project, added to recent agreements in East Strathmore and Claresholm, gives us the capability to offer a variety of renewable energy solutions to Alberta customers. TC Energy is focused on our own decarbonization efforts as well as being the provider of choice for carbon-free energy to the North America industrial, oil, and natural gas sectors.”
The development is EDP Renewables’ third wind farm in Canada, joining its 30 MW South Branch Wind Farm and 100 MW Nation Rise Wind Farm, both of which are operational and located in Ontario.
“Sharp Hills has been thoughtfully developed for a number of years, and I am pleased that with the execution of this contract, we will soon commence construction of the project and supply cost-effective, reliable energy to Albertans for decades to come,” comments Miguel Prado, EDP Renewables North America’s CEO. “We appreciate our relationship with TC Energy and commend the company on its mission to increase investment in zero carbon emission renewable energy projects.”
