WindRiver Power Corporation announces that TC Energy Corporation has closed an equity investment in Turning Point Generation (TPG), a WindRiver subsidiary that is the developer and owner of the 400-MW Canyon Creek Project.
Canyon Creek is a planned pumped storage hydro facility to be located near Hinton, Alberta, Canada. It will have initial generating capacity of 75 MW (expandable through future development to 400 MW) and uses existing site infrastructure from a decommissioned open pit coal mine. The 75-MW facility will provide up to 37 hours of on-demand, flexible, clean energy and ancillary services to the Alberta electricity grid. The closed-loop, off-stream design will significantly reduce any potential adverse environmental impacts to Alberta’s natural river courses, WindRiver Power says.
The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
The Canyon Creek Project has received the approval of the Alberta Utilities Commission and the required approval of the Alberta Government for hydro projects under the Canyon Creek Hydro Development Act.
“We are excited to be joined by TC Energy in advancing the Canyon Creek Project to its commencement of construction, which we anticipate by year’s end,” said Kipp Horton, president and chief executive officer of WindRiver. “TC Energy’s outstanding reputation, financial strength and intimate working knowledge of the Alberta electricity market make it an ideal complement to WindRiver’s expertise in hydro plant construction and operation.”
“We are looking forward to working with TPG and adding the Canyon Creek Project to our growing portfolio of energy storage prospects”, says François Poirier, chief operating officer and president, power and storage and Mexico for TC Energy. “We believe that large-scale, long-duration and strategically-sited energy storage is the key to unlocking the full potential of renewable energy and moving towards a lower carbon footprint in Alberta’s electricity grid.”
WindRiver Power is engaged in the development, ownership and operation of renewable energy projects in western Canada and internationally, with a focus on run-of-river hydro, wind generation and, through TPG, pumped hydro energy storage.
TC Energy has a network of natural gas and crude oil pipelines, along with power generation and storage facilities, across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
