Germany-based Goldbeck Solar has broken ground on its 47MW solar plant in Alberta, Canada, the first project to enter construction as part of a 100MW portfolio that Goldbeck Solar is developing in a joint venture with PACE Canada LP.
The project, located in Joffre, Lacomb County, will be built by Goldbeck subsidiary GP Joule Canada and will produce around 88450MWh of solar power annually. The 3 projects set to follow this one – Youngstown, Hanna and Caroline – will bring Goldbeck’s Alberta portfolio up to 100MW.
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Jaochim Goldbeck, CEO of Goldbeck Solar group and Director of PACE Canada, set out further ambitions for the region:
“Canada and Alberta in particular are very promising markets for us. We started with project developments in the PACE Canada LP in March and recently acquired the specialised EPC unit GP JOULE EPC NA to complete our clean energy strategy for Canada. With them as part of our GOLDBECK SOLAR group, we want to build many more projects like this in Alberta and across Canada.”
Alberta has seen significant market growth throughout 2022, with TC Energy beginning work on their first solar plant earlier this month and Canadian company Suncor Energy selling its solar and wind assets – including a 1.5GW development pipeline in Alberta – to Canadian Utilities.
In 2017-18, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) incentivised large-scale renewable development by awarding over 1,300MW of renewables contracts in the region with the intention of creating a renewable hub in the region.
GP Joule Canada, the constructors of the Joffre solar plant, was a subsidiary of the German GP Joule Group until it was acquired by Goldbeck Solar in September 2022. It has built over 200MW of projects in Canada and the northern US over the last decade.
PACE Canada is jointly owned by Goldbeck Solar and Pathfinder Clean Energy and intends to develop and operate over 500MW of renewable energy projects in the next three years across Canada.