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TransAlta Corp. plans to more than triple output from its Brazeau hydroelectric facility through the addition of pumped storage capacity, a project conceived in the 1960s, as the company moves away from coal-fired generation.
TransAlta will spend between C$1.8 billion and C$2.5 billion on the project to boost output at the existing 355-MW plant to as much as 1,255 MW, company President and CEO Dawn Farrell said on a conference call. The expansion would use pumps to move water 20 kilometers through a dry riverbed back to the facility's upper reservoir and add a dam and new turbines at its base. Farrell said construction of the project could start by 2021, with first power from the facility in 2025 or 2026.
"Our Brazeau project is a perfect investment to meet the needs of the capacity market," Farrell said on the Nov. 29 call. "It also fits very well with government plans to bring on 5,000 MW...