EDP Renewables, the fourth largest renewable energy producer in the world, through its fully owned subsidiary EDP Renewables Canada Ltd. (EDPR Canada), and TC Energy Corporation have executed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for 100 percent of the output of the 297-megawatt (MW) Sharp Hills Wind Farm, located in the Special Areas municipality near the hamlets of Sedalia and New Bridgen, in the province of Alberta. The PPA will enable the continued development and eventual construction and operations of the wind farm, subject to customary regulatory approvals and conditions.
The wind farm is expected to be operational in 2023 and will provide economic benefits to the local project communities and the province of Alberta in the form of payments to local landowners and property tax revenue to the Special Area Board. Sharp Hills will also contribute to the increase in money spent at businesses in the vicinity of the wind farm. The project will create jobs with approximately 300 employment opportunities during the wind farm’s construction and 15-20 permanent, local jobs during the project’s operational life. The Sharp Hills Wind Farm will also generate enough electricity to annually power the equivalent of more than 164,000 average Alberta homes and will save approximately two billion litres of water per year as well as avoiding estimated annual emissions of 700 thousand tons of CO2.
EDPR entered the Canadian market in 2010 with the acquisition of a portfolio of wind farm projects. The Sharp Hills Win Farm is EDP Renewables’ third wind farm in Canada, joining its 30-MW South Branch Wind Farm and 100-MW Nation Rise Wind Farm, both of which are operational and located in Ontario.
With this new agreement, it now has 0.4 GW of secured capacity in Canada that will be operational from 2021.
EDPR’s success in securing new PPAs reinforces its low-risk profile and growth strategy based on the development of competitive projects with long-term visibility.
The company recognises the strong fundamentals and dynamic growth of the wind market in Canada, and with this new PPA, the firm will contribute to the Canada’s energy transition towards carbon neutrality.