On December 17, 2018 the Government of Alberta announced the results of REP Rounds 2 and 3. REP Round 3 successfully delivered 400 MW of wind generation at a weighted average bid price of $40.14/MWh.
In total, the new developments will create about 1,000 jobs and generate about 760 megawatts. Three of the wind projects are private-sector partnerships with First Nations, which include a minimum 25 per cent Indigenous equity component that will help create jobs and new economic benefits. Additional opportunities may include skills training and educational opportunities.
In addition to new local jobs and contracting, the five projects will bring an estimated $175 million in rural benefits over the life of the projects, including landowner payments and municipal revenues.
The weighted average price of 3.9 cents per kilowatt hour for the latest round of projects is just shy of the Canadian record-low price achieved by Alberta in 2017 and continues to be among the lowest in the country, including less than half the price of a recent procurement in Ontario.
Each of these projects are expected to begin construction in 2020 and be fully operational by mid-2021:
• TransAlta Corporation (Alberta-based) will build the 207-megawatt Windrise project, southwest of Fort MacLeod.
• EDF Renewables Canada Inc. (subsidiary of the France-based company) will build the 202-megawatt Cypress Wind Power project near Medicine Hat in partnership with the Kainai First Nation.
• Capstone Infrastructure Corporation (Ontario-based) will build the 48-megawatt Buffalo Atlee wind farms near Brooks in partnership with the Sawridge First Nation.
• Potentia Renewables Inc. (Ontario-based) will build the 113-megawatt Stirling Wind project near Lethbridge in partnership with the Paul First Nation, as well as Calgary-based Greengate Power Corporation.
• Potentia Renewables Inc. will build two phases of the Jenner Wind Project near Brooks, for a total of 193 megawatts.
In total, Alberta’s Renewable Electricity Program will support the development of 5,000 megawatts of renewable electricity to reach a target of 30 per cent renewable energy by 2030 while creating more than 7,000 jobs for Albertans.
Support for the Renewable Electricity Program is made possible by reinvesting revenues from carbon pricing under the Climate Leadership Plan. A government statement noted that “the program is not funded from consumer power bills in any way.”