Advancing to Net Carbon Neutral by 2050

- By Sian Barraclough -

Vice President, Strategy and Sustainability, Capital Power

At Capital Power, we are committed to delivering Responsible Energy for Tomorrow. But what does that mean? Capital Power is taking action to do our part in the global transition to net zero, collaborating with our employees, local communities, investors, government, the scientific community, partners, Indigenous communities, and other stakeholders.

Today, we are researching, investing and applying industryleading innovations to decarbonize our fleet of world-class thermal power generation assets, while also expanding our renewables portfolio. In our home province of Alberta, we are moving off coal in 2023 – nearly 6 years ahead of government mandate – by transforming our Genesee Generating Station into a natural gas-powered facility and expanding our renewables fleet with our first two solar projects in Canada and building new wind projects.

Our flagship Genesee Generating Station is a hub of innovation as we are investing nearly $1 billion to repower two of its three units to utilize best-in-class natural gas combined cycle technology and converting the supercritical unit to 100% natural gas. The repowered units will add 560 megawatts (MW) of net capacity, resulting in 1,360 MW of baseload generation capacity available 24/7 to power Alberta’s communities, economy and essential services. One of the exciting facets of the repowering project is the units being hydrogen capable (30% hydrogen when repowering is complete; upgradable to 95% in the future at minimal cost) and carbon capture-ready – demonstrating the agility of this facility to implement the latest decarbonization technologies as they become commercially viable. Capital Power is also proud to share that, following repowering and gas conversion, GHG emissions at the Genesee facility will be approximately 3.4 million tonnes per year lower than its 2019 emission levels.

Along with our efforts to decarbonize our thermal fleet, we are expanding our renewables fleet. We announced our first Canadian solar projects in Alberta – Strathmore Solar (40.5 MW; $50 million investment) and Enchant Solar (75 MW; $90 million investment) – applying our solar energy experience from our U.S. fleet to further diversify our renewables portfolio and create new opportunities for Canadian communities and companies to source energy from solar generation. Both projects are expected to be complete in 2022. We have also announced three solar projects in North Carolina, totaling 160 MW. In addition, we are expanding our Whitla Wind facility in Alberta with two new phases of development – Whitla Wind 2 will add 97 MW ($165 million investment) and Whitla Wind 3 will add 54 MW ($92 million investment). Once all three phases of the Whitla Wind facility are complete by the end of 2021, it will be Alberta’s largest wind facility with 353 MW of generation capacity.

Together, these investments support our commitment to a sustainable, low-carbon energy future. Capital Power is on a solid, transparent path toward our goal of net carbon neutral by 2050 – providing reliable power today while investing in sustainable power for tomorrow.

Capital Power (TSX: CPX) is a growth-oriented North American power producer headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta. The company develops, acquires, owns, and operates power generation facilities using a variety of energy sources. Capital Power owns over 6,400 megawatts (MW) of power generation capacity across North America.