By Neil Thomson
January 9, 2014
Pipeline giants, TransCanada and Enbridge have announced mammoth investments in solar and wind projects respectively, while industry partners in Calgary search for Canada’s next generation of energy technology at the Propel Energy Tech Forum on January 22.
TransCanada, the country’s second largest pipeline operator, is increasing its investment in renewable energy generation. The company recently announced its acquisition of a 10-megawatt solar installation in eastern Ontario from Canadian Solar Solutions. This transaction is one of nine other Ontario solar facilities it plans to buy, with a combined capacity of 86 megawatts (enough to power approximately 17,000 homes) and total cost of about $500 million. Five solar projects remain to be developed and TransCanda expects those to enter service by the end of 2014.
Energy delivery company, Enbridge has announced its plans to invest US$200 million in a 110 megawatt wind project in Texas called the Keechi Wind Project. This is the third wind project purchased from Colorado based project developer, Renewable Energy Systems Americas. Construction for Keechi Wind began in December 2013 and is expected to complete in early 2015. Enbridge has made a commitment to generate a kilowatt of renewable energy for every kilowatt of conventional electricity its liquids pipeline operations consume.
Canadian industry isn’t only looking to invest in renewable energy. On January 22 industry partners will be hosting the Propel Energy Tech Forum in Calgary with the objective of “fuelling the energy technology ecosystem with innovation”. The call goes out to emerging and established energy technology companies in the oil and gas industry from across North America, which can be further classified into the following categories: Digital Oilfield; Advanced Materials and Chemicals; Extraction, Drilling, Upgrading and Transportation; Water, Waste, and GHGs. Emerging energy technology ventures can apply to present by clicking here.
