TransAlta cancels wind power project over new Alberta government rules on development
Global News
Major Alberta utility provider TransAlta said it's also placing three other developments on hold as the government goes through a redesign of the province's electricity market.
A major Alberta utility is cancelling a large wind power project because of new government rules on where such developments can be built.
TransAlta CEO John Kousinioris said Friday the 300-megawatt Riplinger project near Cardston in southern Alberta will no longer proceed.
“We’ve reassessed our growth plans in the province,” he said in a conference call to analysts.
“(The project) has been impacted by the new restrictions on development near protected areas and pristine viewscapes and will not be advanced.
TransAlta is also to put three other developments on hold, as the government goes through a redesign of the province’s electricity market.
The 100-megawatt Tempest wind project south of Lethbridge is affected by that delay, as is the gas-fired, 44-megawatt Pinnacle generator west of Edmonton and the 180-megawatt WaterCharger battery storage facility near Cochrane.
“They have been placed on hold until we receive sufficient clarity,” Kousinioris said.
In February, the United Conservative Party government announced new rules on the development of renewable power in the province. They impose a new 35-kilometre buffer zone around protected areas and what the government calls “pristine viewscapes.”