Canada’s AltaGas Ltd. announced its 195-MW Forrest Kerr hydropower project in British Columbia completed a 72-hour testing period required to achieve commercial operation under its electricity purchase agreement with power purchaser BC Hydro.
The developer said Oct. 21 that a certificate of commercial operation date had been delivered to BC Hydro.
“The final test phase went as planned and Forrest Kerr has officially started delivering clean power to British Columbia,” AltaGas Chief Operating Officer David Harris said. “I would like to thank all our employees and contractors, the government of British Columbia and BC Hydro for their contribution to the success of our project. I would like especially to thank the Tahltan First Nation, on whose traditional territory this landmark green project operates.”
The C$725 million (US$645.4 million) run-of-river Forrest Kerr’s powerhouse and high-voltage switchyard were commissioned in July on the Iskut River. The weir, intake structure, desanding area and radial gate control valve were commissioned in May.
Forrest Kerr is one of three hydro projects owned by AltaGas on the Iskut River. Forrest Kerr and 66-MW McLymont Creek and 16-MW Volcano Creek were developed under long-term energy purchase agreements with BC Hydro and Impact Benefit Agreements with the Tahltan First Nation. AltaGas signed a 60-year inflation-indexed energy purchase agreement with BC Hydro for Forrest Kerr in 2010.
