Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. has purchased the Miller Creek hydroelectric run-of-river power generating plant near Pemberton from Capital Power Corporation.
The purchase is one of two IPPs bought by Innergex from Capital Power, the other being Brown Lake near Prince Rupert. The purchase price for the two is approximately $69.2 million, Innergex said in a release.
Miller Creek is a 33 MW facility brought into operation in 2003 and located on Crown land. All of the electricity it produces is sold to BC Hydro under a 20-year power purchase agreement that expires in 2023, with BC Hydro holding two consecutive five-year renewal options, according the release. Miller Creek has an average annual production of 97,900 MWh, representing revenues of approximately $2.0 million for the current year.
Innergex also plans to undertake an $8.5 million capital expenditure program to upgrade the penstock and water intake at Miller Creek, which it said will increase the plant’s expected average annual production to 102,795 MWh and reduce operating costs.
This brings to five the number of Innergex run-of-river projects in the Sea to Sky region, including:
- Ashlu Creek near Squamish, commissioned in 2009, which has a 49.9 MW capacity and is contracted to sell electricity to BC Hydro until 2039;
- Fitzsimmons Creek in Whistler, commissioned in 2010, which has a 7.5 MW capacity and is contracted to sell electricity to BC Hydro until 2050;
- Rutherford Creek near Pemberton, commissioned in 2004, which has a 49.9 MW capacity and is contracted to sell energy to BC Hydro until 2024; and
- Upper Lillooet near Pemberton, which the company hopes to have operating a 40-year contract to sell energy to BC Hydro by 2016. The site is the largest, with a capacity to produce 74.0 MW.
Innergex owns 100 per cent of the Ashlu Creek and Rutherford Creek plants, and 66.7 per cent of the Upper Lillooet and Fitzsimmons Creek plants.
The acquisition of the Miller Creek facility is conditional upon a 30-day right of first refusal in favour of BC Hydro. There is no assumption of any project level debt on either Miller Creek or Brown Lake. Innergex expects the transaction to close in July, subject to regulatory approvals.
