Canadian renewables firm Westbridge Renewable Energy has received approval from the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) to build a solar-plus-storage plant in Alberta, Canada with a solar PV component of up to 225MW.
The Red Willow project will be constructed and operated by a subsidiary of Westbridge and will be paired with a battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity of up to 200MWh.
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This is the fourth of five projects from the company to receive a power plant and BESS approval in the region, and is part of a portfolio of solar-plus-storage assets sold to the Greek developer Metlen Energy & Metals in 2023. Comprising five solar PV plants with a combined capacity of 1.4GW, the projects were, at the time of the deal’s announcement, expected to be completed between 2026-2027.
“This achievement, combined with the previously obtained approvals for Georgetown, Sunnynook and Dolcy means that we have secured AUC approval for four out of our five projects in Alberta. This progress is a crucial step forward in advancing the Red Willow project towards the ready-to-build stage,” said Maggie McKenna, director and COO at Westbridge.
The remaining project yet to receive approval from the AUC is the 345MW Eastervale solar-plus-storage project, which will include 400MWh of BESS.
The Red Willow solar-plus-storage project is the second solar PV project to receive approval from the AUC this week, following Finnish investor Korkia’s approval to build a 430MW solar portfolio comprising two PV plants.
