BluEarth acquiring majority stakes in two SE Alberta solar plays

By Medicine Hat News on January 9, 2021.

A renewable energy company is expanding its footprint in the region.

BluEarth Renewables announced Tuesday it will acquire majority stakes in two planned solar power farms in southeastern Alberta from Canadian Solar, Inc., marking the second transaction between the firms in four months and giving BluEarth five major facilities in operation or development in the region.

In the most recent deal, BluEarth takes over 50 per-cent ownership of Hays and Jenner Solar projects, each designed to produce 23 megawatts of power under peak conditions.

Both are scheduled to begin construction this year.

BluEarth acquired the Suffield Solar field from Canadian Solar shorty before it went into production last September.

Separately, BluEarth has announced that it will move ahead with construction of the Burdett and Yellow Lake Solar facilities in the County of Forty Mile this year.

All told, 109 megawatts of power production capacity would make BluEarth the largest solar producer in Alberta when the projects are complete.

“Alberta is home to some of the best solar power resource in Canada and we look forward to bringing these projects to market with our partner, Conklin MÃ©tis Local 193,” said BluEarth president Grant Arnold.

Hays and Jenner, which are 50 per cent owned but the MÃ©tis group, were part of an Alberta provincial government power procurement process.

That contract was announced in late 2018 and was attached to a set price of 4.8-cents per kilowatt hour, about equal to the average grid price charged in 2020, but a record low offering for solar power.

The two plants, plus another in Tilley that is still owned by Canadian Solar, will provide 55 per cent of the government’s electricity buy each year.

The power from Burdett and Yellow Lake will be sold under agreement to the Royal Bank of Canada, it was announced this summer.

BluEarth was acquired by Dutch-based infrastructure fund DIF V in late 2019 from founding partner, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund.