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Press Release from PACE Canada:
August 19, 2024, Viking, AB
Just over a year after the Alberta Government announced the pause of renewable energy projects in the province, PACE Canada is delighted to announce that the Alberta Utilities Commission permitted its Valhalla 9MW project in the Town of Viking, Alberta, on Friday, August 16, 2024.
Valhalla is one of PACE's seven rural urban-based projects. Claude Mindorff, Director of Strategy for PACE Canada, is focused on utilizing the distribution grid's existing capacity in rural-urban areas. "These projects create opportunities to use existing infrastructure while bolstering Alberta's struggling rural economies," says Mindorff. When projects are sited on municipal lands, the Town benefits from two sustainable revenue streams.
That's the case with Viking. The 9MW projects will be built on the Town's Waste Transfer Station lands, a project well suited to the surrounding land characteristics.
The Town of Viking is no stranger to renewables. In 2020, the Town launched a 1.05-megawatt grid project, thanks in part to funding from the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre. The project generates enough energy to meet the Town's energy needs.
Mindorff claims that few opportunities remain to use the existing distribution infrastructure. When coupled with a battery energy storage system, these projects can make communities like Viking energy resilient using a non-wired approach and at savings to ratepayers.
Mindorff said it was a shame the project was delayed due to the moratorium. However, looking forward, by this time next year, Viking will realize the environmental, economic and social benefits of more renewable energy in its community, and that's a win for us all.
Media Contact
Rhonda Barron BA, MSc
Project & Communications Coordinator
rhonda.barron@pathfinderce.com
587-869-0772
About PACE Canada
PACE Canada LP is a partnership jointly and equally owned by Pathfinder Clean Energy, a global clean energy development and investment company, and GOLDBECK SOLAR, a German company specializing in constructing large-scale solar power plants, based in Germany. The joint venture focuses on utility-scale solar, battery energy storage and green hydrogen production in Canada. PACE Canada manages the entire project value chain, from site selection through permitting, planning, financing and offtake agreements, to be a market-leading platform for clean energy development and investment in Canada.
PACE Canada intends to develop and own and operate over 500MW of clean energy projects within three years and expand its interests in the country into energy storage, green hydrogen.
About Pathfinder Clean Energy (PACE)
Pathfinder Clean Energy is headquartered in London and is a global developer and investor into clean energy with projects and interests in the UK, Europe and Canada. With a significant advanced portfolio of over 1.5GW of utility scale solar and energy storage projects, it is expanding its operations to make a significant contribution to the challenge of achieving net zero carbon emissions. PACE has recently announced its expansion into the green hydrogen market.
About GOLDBECK SOLAR
GOLDBECK SOLAR is an international company specializing in the turnkey construction of commercial rooftop and ground-mounted photovoltaic systems. The range of services covers the entire value chain, from project development and targeted project financing to the construction and integration of storage technologies, technical operation and asset management of the plants, as well as the direct sale of clean energy.