A Greek conglomerate is making its first foray into Alberta’s deregulated power market with what it hopes will become the province’s largest solar panel farm — five of them, in fact..Athens-based MYTILINEOS Energy and Metals announced Thursday it's entered into a purchase agreement with Calgary-based Westbridge Renewable Energy Corp. to buy its portfolio of Alberta solar projects for $1.7 billion..It comes a day after Westbridge announced it secured $35 million in financing to fund its Alberta Electric System Operator interconnection deposit requirement to advance its suite of projects forward..Those include the following proposed solar plants:.Georgetown with a capacity of up to 230 megawatts (MW), in Vulcan County;Sunnynook with a capacity of up to 280 MW, in Special Area No. 2, Alberta;Dolcy with a capacity of up to 200 MW, in the MD of Wainwright;Eastervale with a capacity of up to 300 MW, in the MD of Provost; and; Red Willow solar power plant with a capacity of up to 225 MW, in Stettler County..When complete, all five will generate a combined 2.1 terawatt-hours of renewable electricity per year, enough to power 200,000 homes while removing the equivalent of 330,000 cars from the road and 1.5 megatonnes of CO2 emissions. .Two are build-ready and expected to be complete by the end of the year while the remaining three are set for completion by the end of 2024..Closing of the deal is subject to customary stock market approvals as well as regulatory approvals for the projects themselves from the Alberta Utilities Commission..It’s the first of its kind for MYTILINEOS in North America, which credited Alberta’s “business-friendly environment” for the decision. Little coincidence, it comes just days after the province’s provincial election although it wasn’t explicitly mentioned..Federal incentives also helped..Notably, the government of Canada in its most recent budget announced the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit and Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit which provide a refundable credit of up to 30% for energy generation projects produced from renewable sources..The company said the headline investment number for the projects includes credits of up to $430 million, based on the estimated eligible capital expenditures under the plan..Moreover, it said the selection of Alberta was an “obvious choice” which has some of the highest irradiation — sunny days — in Canada, making it an ideal location for the development of solar projects in the country. . Wind and solar compared .In addition, Alberta is one of the fastest growing renewable energy markets in North America and has a target, as per its Renewable Electricity Act, to achieve 30% production from renewable energy sources by 2030. .“In MYTILINEOS’ view, the province of Alberta has established a streamlined permitting process which favours appropriate planning and predictability," said a company press release.
