ENMAX Energy today announced that it has received Shareholder approval to proceed with its proposals to build approximately 1,200 megawatt (MW) of electricity generating capacity in and around the city of Calgary at a portfolio cost of approximately $1.6 billion.
Chief among these is a 1,000 MW facility that will provide enough electricity for about two thirds of Calgary’s requirements.
The facility will be using the best available gas technology and will produce less than half the CO2 per MW than current coal plants.
In a statement released today, Gary Holden, CEO of ENMAX Energy said:
“As Calgary’s electricity demand continues to grow, we need to build cleaner generation facilities that are better for the environment and closer to the city.
We also need to secure lower cost sources of new electricity for our EasyMax customers when they come to renew their contracts. We have a responsibility to continue to seek the best overall resources for our customer base.
On one of the two possible sites we’re evaluating, we also intend to use waste heat from this facility to provide heat to an associated light industrial park in the surrounding area. In this way, we could maximise the plant’s energy efficiency, while also enabling job creation and economic development.
Our vision is that our customers will have access to state-of-the-art, environmentally sensitive generation across the province that will optimize existing infrastructure. This plant will become the template for future plants in Alberta because it is cleaner and can be located closer to customers.
This project will present solutions to several existing Alberta system issues:
- It will help firm up the southern transmission grid, which will contribute greatly to the development of additional wind farms, by assisting in overcoming the challenge of intermittent production.
- It will have a dramatic impact in reducing transmission line losses (electricity lost as heat when transported over wires), bringing benefits to all Albertans.
- It will go a long way to meeting the Province’s CO2 intensity targets for the electricity sector.
Our long term plan is to have 100% of our customers’ needs matched by renewable energy, cogeneration or the best available clean coal or gas technology by the time current power purchase agreements are terminated. This project is a very important step in that direction.”
Another major project is the construction of a 120 MW natural gas-fired peaking power plant near Crossfield, about 10 km north of Airdrie. The Crossfield Energy Centre is scheduled to be generating electricity by mid 2009.
Gary Holden said:
“As part of preparing this project, a comprehensive public consultation program was undertaken to ensure interested parties had a clear understanding of the proposed project and were involved in the decision making process. Communication and trust are fundamental to our stakeholder program and we’ve been very pleased with the level of participation and the constructive way in which we have been able to exchange information and ideas.
At a time when demand for electricity in Alberta continues to reach record levels, the Crossfield Energy Centre will bring several benefits:
- It will help the Alberta Electric System Operator in its task of ensuring reliability for Southern Alberta.
- It will help to keep electricity costs as low as possible for ENMAX Energy’s customers by reducing exposure to volatile energy markets.
- As a rapid-response, natural gas-fired facility, it will help stabilize the province’s southern transmission grid and thereby support the introduction of further wind farms.
- It also will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing transmission line losses from coal-fired stations in central Alberta.”
ENMAX Energy Corporation, a subsidiary of ENMAX Corporation, is Alberta’s leading competitive electricity retailer. In addition to electricity, ENMAX Energy provides natural gas, renewable energy and value-added services to residential, commercial and industrial customers throughout Alberta. ENMAX Energy contracts low-cost reliable electricity from the Keephills and Battle River coal-fired plants and meets peak demand through a long term agreement with the natural gas fired Calgary Energy Centre. Through a subsidiary, it is one of Alberta’s largest investors in renewable energy with 50 per cent ownership of the McBride Lake Wind Farm and 100 per cent ownership of the Taber Wind Farm. ENMAX Energy has the largest green power marketing program of its kind in Canada and in 2006, received the Consumer Champion Award for its ground-breaking EasyMax® program. For more information, visit our website at enmaxenergy.com.
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