Microsoft agrees to buy wind power from Alberta project

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Microsoft will buy 543 GWh worth of energy annually from wind projects in Alberta in a deal announced Monday.

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The energy produced will come from the Paintearth Wind Project, about 40 kilometers east of Stettler, which began construction in September. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. The Power Purchase Agreement is valid for 15 years.

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The project is 75% owned by Potentia Renewables Inc. of Toronto and 25% owned by Greengate Power Corp. of Calgary.

Greengate CEO Dan Balaban called renewable energy a new Alberta advantage as companies look to tap into the province’s vast renewable energy supply.

“These kinds of deals really change the story of Alberta,” he told the Post Media. We can become a leader in renewable energy, which translates directly into new economic development opportunities.”

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Chris Barry, president of Microsoft Canada, said the deal will help the company reach its goal of reducing 100% of its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2025.

“This deal with Paintearth Wind is an important step in Microsoft’s move to renewable energy in Canada,” he said in a news release.

PWP is a 198 MW project consisting of 38 turbines. Construction this fall was to be limited to setting up the area, building new road access, improving existing roads, and starting construction at the Lake Lanes Substation. Most of the project’s construction is expected to take place during 2023 and is expected to have a lifespan of more than 30 years.

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Balaban noted that the technology for wind projects is improving and becoming more efficient. He pointed to the Halkirk Wind Project near Castor, the first project in the area. Although he uses 83 turbines, he produces three-quarters of the project’s expected capacity.

Balaban said there are billions of dollars in the pipeline for new renewable energy projects.

Recently brought online is the $700 million Travers Solar project in Greengate, Vulcan County, funded by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. It is not expected to be fully completed until the end of this year, but it is already putting energy into the Alberta power grid. The project has a contract to sell 400 MW of electricity to Amazon from 2021.

“Alberta is unique in Canada because it is the only deregulated electricity market in the country – the only electricity market in the country where companies can contract directly with renewable energy project owners,” Balaban said. said. “It has generated tremendous interest in this kind of arrangement in this state.”

jaldrich@postmedia.com

twitter: @Joshua Aldrich03