BHE Canada seeks approval for 117.6-MW zero-subsidy Alberta wind project

BHE Canada, a unit of billionaire Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy, has submitted its application for the construction and grid-connection of the 117.6-MW Rattlesnake Ridge wind project in Alberta.

Through its subsidiary BHE Canada Rattlesnake GP Inc, the company has filed a facility application with the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), it said on Friday. It will implement the project without using government subsidies, estimating the needed investment will be CAD 200 million (USD 153.2m/EUR 138.3m).

BHE Canada will cover the full cost of the project, as well as related costs for the power plant’s transmission connection by itself. Once AUC greenlights the scheme, construction could start in the last quarter of next year, with completion targeted by end-2021.

To be located southwest of Medicine Hat, the wind park will be equipped with up to 28 turbines of 4.2 MW each that will be able to generate around 475 GWh a year, once fully operational. This will be enough to supply about 79,000 homes annually. The majority of the output will be sold to an unnamed Canadian corporate partner of BHE Canada under a long-term power purchase agreement.

As previously announced, UK-based Renewable Energy Systems is developing the Rattlesnake Ridge project and will also provide construction and asset management services.

(CAD 1.0 = USD 0.766/EUR 0.691)

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