Westbridge Renewable Agrees to Sale of 1.4 GW Solar Pipeline

Westbridge Renewable Energy Corp., a developer of utility-scale solar PV projects, has entered into definitive agreements regarding the purchase by Metka-EGN Ltd. (a subsidiary of MYTILINEOS Energy & Metals) of a portfolio of five solar projects located in Alberta, Canada, from Westbridge, with anticipated aggregate capacity of 1.4 GW DC upon commercial operation.  

The transaction is to be completed by way of a share purchase by Metka of all the issued and outstanding shares of the following Westbridge subsidiaries: Georgetown Solar Inc., Sunnynook Solar Energy Inc., Dolcy Solar Inc., Eastervale Solar Inc. and Red Willow Solar Inc.

The projects under development include:

• Georgetown – Solar power plant with a capacity of up to 230 MW AC (278 MW DC), located in Vulcan County, Alberta;
• Sunnynook – Solar power plant with a capacity of up to 280 MW AC (332 MW DC), located in Special Area No. 2, Alberta;
• Dolcy – Solar power plant with a capacity of up to 200 MW AC (246 MW DC), located in the municipal district of Wainwright, Alberta;
• Eastervale – Solar power plant with a capacity of up to 300 MW AC (274 MW DC), located in the municipal district of Provost, Alberta; and
• Red Willow – Solar power plant with a capacity of up to 225 MW AC (280 MW DC), located in Stettler County No. 6, Alberta.

It is anticipated that upon entering into operation, the projects will:

• Generate 2.1 TWh per year of renewable energy, equivalent to the electricity necessary to provide power to 200,000 Canadian homes for one year;
• Have a total estimated capital expense investment of 1.7 billion Canadian dollars – excluding battery and energy storage system equipment (BESS) – which will be disbursed (except for the advance payment) in the various phases of project development and construction, with expected completion in 2026-2027. The capital expense investment is expected to be equally distributed over a period of four years.

The two most advanced projects, Georgetown and Sunnynook (approximately 510 MW) are expected to reach ready-to-build (RTB) status by the end of this year, while the remaining three projects (approximately 800 MW) are in advanced development status with RTB expected by mid-2024.

All of the projects have applied for and/or been permitted for the installation and use of a BESS, with a total anticipated combined storage capacity of 1,200 MWh for the total portfolio.

“The definitive sale agreements for our Alberta portfolio, not only proves our business model, but solidifies the value of our entire platform,” says Stefano Romanin, CEO and director of Westbridge Renewable. 

According to MYTILINEOS chairman and CEO, Evangelos Mytilineos, the investment is the biggest so far in the history of the company.

Original Source: https://solarindustrymag.com/westbridge-renewable-agrees-to-sale-of-five-canadian-solar-projects