TransAlta Corporation, a Canadian electricity utility, agreed to acquire a 50% interest in an early-stage 320 MW pumped-hydro energy storage project – Tent Mountain Renewable Energy Complex in southwest Alberta, Canada, from Montem Resources.
The project is currently owned by Montem Resources, and TransAlta will partner with Montem to jointly manage the project, with TransAlta acting as the project developer.
TransAlta will pay Montem around $8 million upon completion of the deal and an additional up to $17 million if certain development and commercial ‘milestones’ are met.
The acquisition also includes the intellectual property of a 100 MW offsite green hydrogen electrolyzer and a 100 MW offsite wind development project.
The deal may close next month if it meets customary closing conditions.
Upon closing the transaction, TransAlta will develop the project.
TransAlta president and CEO John Kousinioris said: “The Tent Mountain Renewable Energy Complex is a unique development opportunity for our company and the Province of Alberta.
“The Project can support the reliability of the Alberta grid with a proven technology that is non-emitting and has a significantly larger capacity and duration than other currently available storage options.
“We believe long-duration storage projects like Tent Mountain are essential to support the grid’s reliability in Alberta as wind and solar penetration increase on the path to net-zero electricity.”
Tent Mountain Renewable Energy Complex – will be built over four years, with construction set to start in 2026. If all regulatory, commercial, and engineering requirements are met, the project will begin operations between 2028 and 2030.
According to Mercom’s Annual And Q4 2022 Funding and M&A Report for Storage, Grid & Efficiency. A record 14.6 GW of energy storage and solar + storage projects were acquired in 2022, a 400% increase YoY compared to 3 GW in 2021.
