Suncor Energy to shed wind, solar assets

Canadian oil sands developer Suncor Energy Inc (TSE:SU) has reached a CAD-730-million (USD 536.4m/EUR 541.0m) deal to sell its wind and solar assets in a push to focus on hydrogen and renewable fuels.

The acquirer is Canadian Utilities Limited, a unit of Calgary-based power generation company ATCO company. The transaction hinges on regulatory clearances and is set to close in the first quarter of 2023, a press release said on Wednesday.

The divestment agreement, which comes as part of Suncor's asset portfolio optimisation push, encompasses a 252-MW portfolio of wind parks in operation and a more than 1,500-MW development pipeline of wind and solar projects located in Alberta and Ontario.

“Our ESG efforts will continue to advance in other areas that are complementary to our core business such as replacing coke-fired boilers at Base Plant with lower emission cogeneration units, investing in hydrogen and low-carbon fuels and accelerating commercial scale deployment of carbon capture technology,” said Suncor’s interim president and CEO Kris Smith.

Suncor earlier this year announced that it was taking steps to optimise its asset portfolio through a planned divestment of its exploration and production assets in Norway and its wind and solar assets. A few months later, the company also decided to conduct a strategic review of its downstream retail business.

As for ATCO, the acquisition strengthens its position as a renewable player and comes in line with its ambition to achieve its goal of owning, developing or managing more than 1,000 MW of renewable energy by 2030. It is also another step towards achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Here is the complete list of the assets included in the transaction:

(CAD 1 = USD 0.735/EUR 0.741)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!