Alberta Considering Addition of 14.8 Gigawatts of Power Generation Capacity

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Alberta, Canada, currently has approximately 11.8 gigawatts (GW) of operational power generation capacity. The province's industrial growth, especially in oil sands recovery and fuel production, will require developers to look at the possibility of adding up to 14.8 GW of power generation capacity, a growth of 125%, through 2022.

Click on the image at right for a breakdown of planned power generation capacity in Alberta, Canada.

The proposed generation covers a diverse fuel base, with renewable generation adding about 6.53 GW: 4.63 GW from wind and 1.9 GW from hydropower. Natural gas, with and without waste heat recovery, is expected to contribute more than 3.1 GW. Coal-fired power units, although under heavy scrutiny because of emissions, are still being considered, with an addition of more than 2.9 GW. Nuclear power, a new fuel for western Canada, has 2.2 GW of proposed generation capacity.

The largest single project is Energy Alberta Corporation's (Calgary) 2.2-GW Lac Cardinal Nuclear Station in Grimshaw, utilizing two Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's (Mississauga, Ontario) CANDU ACR-1000 reactors, each with 1.1-GW steam turbine/generators. Completion is expected in 2017-18. The second largest power project is the 1.8-GW Slave River Hydroelectric Station near High Level. This project is a joint venture of TransCanada Energy Limited, a subsidiary of TransCanada Corporation (NYSE:TRP) (Calgary), and ATCO Power Limited, a division of the ATCO Group (TSX:ACO) (Calgary). The project is expected to be complete by 2022. Bow City Power Limited's (Calgary) Bow City Power Plant in Brooks is the third largest project and will utilize two pulverized supercritical boilers each with 500-megawatt (MW) steam turbine/generators.

The largest natural gas power project is the 800-MW combined-cycle Shepard Energy Center in Calgary, owned by ENMAX Corporation, a subsidiary of the city of Calgary. The 4.63 GW of proposed wind generation consists of 40 projects ranging in size from 13.8 MW to the 300-MW Blackspring Ridge Windfarm north of Lethbridge, owned by Greengate Power Corporation (Calgary).

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