Amazon's solar farm offtake deal to accelerate Alberta's renewable energy transformation

FINANCIAL POST

By 2025, Alberta could surpass Ontario as the province with the largest concentration of installed renewable energy capacity in Canada, according to a research firm

In the latest sign of increasing corporate investment in renewable power, tech giant Amazon.com Inc. on Wednesday announced a deal that locks up 80 per cent of the power from what is being described as the largest solar project in Canada.

Located on 3,330 acres of grazing land in southern Alberta’s Vulcan County, the $700 million, 465-megawatt Travers Solar Project is currently under construction and being developed by Calgary-headquartered Greengate Power Corp., with an expected start date of late 2022.

The complex dynamics of energy markets mean that a rise in oil prices would likely make renewable power more attractive and could further accelerate the shift to renewable investments.