Calgary: Turning Point Generation announced the approval August 14 by the Alberta Utilities Commission of its Canyon Creek Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Project. The project would be the first large-scale energy storage project approved in Alberta.
Kipp Horton, President & CEO of Turning Point's parent company, WindRiver Power Corporation, said pumped hydro energy storage will be a critical feature of Alberta's electricity grid as the grid accommodates increasing production from renewable generation, particularly large-scale wind.
"The intermittent and variable nature of renewables requires a complementary source of responsive and reliable generation to balance the system in real time" explained Horton. "Pumped hydro is a proven storage technology, deployed globally for decades, that accomplishes this balancing function, efficiently, sustainably and on a meaningful scale."
The 75 MW Canyon Creek project, capable of supplying power for up to 37 hours at full output, is located near Hinton, Alberta and utilizes existing site infrastructure from an adjacent decommissioned open pit coal mine. The project's principal elements are an upper storage pond, a receiving pond located 500 metres lower, a large-diameter penstock connecting the two ponds and a powerhouse and pump station at the lowest end of the penstock that house both turbine-generators and high-volume pumps.
The closed-loop, off-stream design is intended to significantly reduce any potential adverse environmental impacts to Alberta's natural river courses, the company says.
The timing of the Canyon Creek project also coincides with the introduction of a capacity market in Alberta; a market that, in the view of Peter Bubik, lead of technical developments at Turning Point, is well-suited to the project.
"We're excited about the potential of this made-in-Alberta storage solution to offer a variety of products and benefits to the grid and electricity consumers. We're also very proud of the contribution the project will make to the local and regional economies, including substantial capital investments, near-term development and construction jobs and long-term operations and maintenance jobs," Bubik added. "We first started studies on site in early 2016 and we've been extremely pleased with the support from the local communities and businesses."
Turning Point Generation is a subsidiary of WindRiver Power Corporation. WindRiver 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 now, through Turning Point, pumped hydro energy storage.