TransAlta buys Heartland Generation for $658 million

• 5 months ago (2023-11-03)
• David Flin

Gas 371 North America 998 Policy 8

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TransAlta has announced that it has acquired Canadian-based Heartland Generation for $658 million, which includes the assumption of $268 million of debt.

The deal will give TransAlta an additional 1844 MW of gas-fired generation in western Canada, most in the province of Alberta. It includes 507 MW of cogeneration plants, plus peaking facilities, and the proposed 400 MW Battle River Carbon hub, a plan involving hydrogen-fired generation and carbon capture and sequestration.

TransAlta, which finished converting its coal-fired generation units in Alberta to natural gas by the end of 2021, has also been expanding its renewable energy business. The company has more than 6600 MW of capacity from 72 facilities in Canada, the United States, and Australia, including 29 renewable and 17 gas-fired facilities.

John Kousinioris, CEO of TransAlta, said: “From our perspective, it’s really the cash flows from the gas fleet that are enabling the pivot, more toward cleaner generation from the renewable side. We won’t make the energy transition if our grid isn’t reliable, so the gas is absolutely needed to provide that reliability.”