Westbridge Energy Corporation has purchased a 75% stake in Sunnynook Solar Energy, which is building a new 236MWdc solar and 100MW battery energy storage plant in Alberta, Canada.
The transaction is governed by a binding agreement dated November 30, 2021. A long-term solar lease covering around 940 acres has been negotiated for the project, giving it site ownership.
It is now in Stage 1 of the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) interconnection process, and environmental assessments are being conducted in compliance with Alberta Environment and Parks requirements.
Maggie McKenna, Westbridge’s chief operating officer and director, stated: “The acquisition of Sunnynook increases Westbridge’s Alberta footprint from 278MWdc to 514MWdc and demonstrates the Company’s ability to originate and acquire utility-scale development assets in leading jurisdictions for solar project development.
“This purchase solidifies Westbridge’s position as one of Canada’s largest and fastest-growing solar PV developers by MW, while also diversifying its renewable energy portfolio in terms of asset location and enabling technologies used.
“The Sunnynook project will offer Albertans with clean, renewable energy while also benefiting the local economy by providing new jobs in a rapidly developing industry.”
“Sunnynook will utilize cutting-edge technology, integrating solar PV generation with an innovative battery energy storage system, minimizing the intermittent nature of solar electricity,” said Westbridge CEO Stefano Romanin.
“The latest Energy Storage Roadmap (ES Roadmap) that sets out the AESO’s goal to assist the reliable integration of energy storage technologies across the Alberta Interconnected Electric System emphasizes the relevance of BESS.”
Westbridge currently owns three utility-scale solar PV development projects totaling 735MW, including two Alberta solar PV projects and the recently announced 221MW Accalia Point, Texas development project.
In addition, the company has begun two BESS projects in Alberta, which may provide an additional 200MW of battery storage capacity.
Westbridge stated that it was on track to fulfill or surpass management’s goal of 1GW of development assets in the first year of operations following the RTO.