Westbridge acquires a 236 MW Canadian solar project

Westbridge Energy Corporation has acquired a 75% controlling interest in Sunnynook Solar Energy, the company developing a 236 MW solar and 100 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Alberta, Canada.

The project is currently in Stage 1 of the Alberta Electric System Operator interconnection process, with environmental studies underway in accordance with Alberta Environment and Parks guidelines.

With this acquisition in hand, Westbridge now owns three utility-scale solar development projects totaling 735 MW in capacity. Westbridge has also initiated two BESS projects in Alberta which would add an additional 200MW of battery storage capacity to its portfolio.

While Canada is a relatively nascent solar market compared to the United States, the country’s commitment to solar has grown recently, and Canada ended 2020 with a total solar capacity of roughly 3,000 MW. About 70 MW of solar was installed in Canada in 2020.

That number is expected to grow pretty significantly, however, as the Canadian Renewable Energy Association expects close to 2 GW of wind and solar projects to begin construction or complete installation before the end of the year. The country is also seeing a rise in geographic diversity of projects; early Canadian installations were mostly contained to Ontario.

Alongside the Sunnynook project, Westbridge is developing the 230 MW Georgetown Solar Project, set to be constructed on 710 acres of privately owned cultivated farmland southeast of Calgary. Alberta is also set to be home to the under-development 400 MW Travers Solar project.

Westbridge’s lone U.S. solar asset is the 221 MW Accalia Point Solar project, which the company acquired from Aelius Solar in October. The project is located in Texas, near South Padre Island and the U.S. – Mexico border. Westbridge anticipates completion of the project and interconnection agreement to take place Q1 2023.