CALGARY, ALBERTA and EDMONTON, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Jan 8, 2015) - Capital Power Corporation (CPX.TO) ("Capital Power") and ENMAX Corporation ("ENMAX"), whose affiliates are joint venture partners on the proposed Genesee 4 & 5 facility ("the project"), today announced that the project has received all major regulatory approvals required from the Alberta Utilities Commission and Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development and disclosed the turbine supplier.
The joint venture partners have executed agreements with Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems for the supply and maintenance of the world's most advanced J-Class natural gas turbine technology in commercial operation. The facility will have a nominal generation capacity of 1,060 megawatts consisting of two 530 megawatt units. The facility consists of two one-on-one, single shaft power islands, each incorporating a 501 J-class natural gas turbine, steam turbine, generator and heat recovery steam generator.
This technology has a lower heat rate than previous technology resulting in higher efficiency and about a 4% reduction in CO2 and NOx emissions compared to the previous generation's technology. The J-Class technology also provides superior flexibility to respond to sudden fluctuations in supply and demand which makes it well suited for the Alberta power market.
"The Genesee 4 & 5 project promises to deliver superior efficiency and reliability due to its advanced J-Class turbine technology compared to other proposed projects utilizing combined cycle generation technology," said Brian Vaasjo, President and CEO of Capital Power. "With all major regulatory approvals granted, site preparation is set to begin in mid-2015."
The completion date of the first unit could be as early as late 2018 depending on market conditions. The commercial agreements include flexibility on the timing of the in-service date for the project, to coincide with the need for additional generation to meet growing demand and to replace generation from the retirement of some coal generating units in Alberta.
The capital cost for the project, excluding interest to fund construction and refundable transmission system contribution payments, is expected to be approximately $1.4 billion. ENMAX will seek required approvals to continue its 50% interest prior to full notice to proceed.
"Genesee 4 & 5 represents another step by ENMAX in continuing our strategy of investing in efficient and reliable gas-fueled generation to meet the electricity needs of Alberta," said ENMAX President and CEO, Gianna Manes.