Capital Power: Decarbonizing Natural Gas & Advancing Renewable Generation

PROJECT 01

Decarbonizing Natural Gas & Advancing Renewable Generation

Capital Power is fighting against climate change and – as a proud Canadian company – helping Canada achieve its net zero by 2050 goal. They are focused on innovation to reduce emissions, increase efficiency, and decarbonize their fleet by advancing carbon capture technology and expanding their renewable generation portfolio.

Capital Power’s flagship, Genesee Generating Station, is a hub of innovation at the heart of their Alberta operations. As they transition off coal, Capital Power is investing nearly $1 billion to repower two of its three units to utilize bestin-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.

The units will be hydrogen capable and carbon capture-ready – demonstrating the agility of this facility to implement the latest decarbonization technologies. Following repowering and gas conversion, GHG emissions at the Genesee facility will be ~3.4 million tonnes per year lower than 2019 emission levels. To further advance decarbonization of Alberta’s electricity grid, Capital Power is investing roughly $400 million to add more than 250 MW of wind and solar capacity by 2023. They are also advancing plans to develop the Genesee CCUS Project, which would deploy the latest postcombustion carbon capture technology on their repowered Genesee 1 & 2 units. This project would capture 90% of the carbon emitted from these units – for an additional ~3 million tonnes per year in emission reductions – and could potentially be operational by the end of 2026.

6 Coe 2021: Electricity Innovation • Canadian Electricity association 02