TransCanada to sell 76 MW in Ontario

The Calgary-based energy group expects to finalize the transaction by the end of this year, according to an online statement. It said that it will use the proceeds from the sale of the eight PV projects to fund its C$24 billion near-term capital program.

Its Toronto-listed shares closed up 0.52% at C$60.03 on October 26. It also has common shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The group first jumped into the solar market in December 2011, when it agreed to buy 86 MW of capacity across nine sites from Canadian Solar Solutions for C$470 million. It steadily acquired each of those projects between June 2013 and December 2014. All electricity generated by the PV arrays is being sold under 20-year feed-in tariff contracts to Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).

The projects include a 10 MW solar installation in the town of Mississippi Mills, west of the city of Ottawa. Other PV plants in the Ontario portfolio include additional 10 MW PV arrays near the national capital, primarily in Ontario’s New Liskeard region.

TransCanada claims it is the biggest gas storage service provider in North America, with 653 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. It runs one of the biggest natural gas transmission networks on the continent, spanning more than 91,500 km. As an IPP, it owns or holds stakes in roughly 6.2 GW of generating capacity throughout Canada and the U.S.