CALGARY,
AB, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - TransAlta
Corporation ("TransAlta" or the "Company") (TSX: TA) (NYSE: TAC)
announced today that it has entered into a long-term renewable
energy purchase agreement with Meta, formerly known as the Facebook
company, for the offtake of 100 per cent of the generation from its
200 MW Horizon Hill Wind Power Project ("Horizon Hill" or
"facility"), to be located in Logan
County, Oklahoma. Under this agreement, Meta will receive
both renewable electricity and environmental attributes. This
long-term contract with Meta enables TransAlta to add the 200 MW
Horizon Hill Wind Project to its growing US wind generation
fleet.
"Since 2020, Meta has supported its global operations with 100
per cent wind and solar energy. As our footprint grows, it's key
that we find strong partners who can help us continue to meet that
goal by bringing new renewable energy to the grid," said
Urvi Parekh, head of renewable
energy at Meta. "We are excited to partner with TransAlta to make
this 200 MW project a reality."
"TransAlta is excited to partner with Meta to make Horizon Hill
a reality. The delivery of clean, low-cost, reliable energy
from Horizon Hill supports Meta's sustainability goals and provides
another excellent opportunity to expand our wind fleet in
the United States," said
John Kousinioris, President and
Chief Executive Officer of TransAlta. "Horizon Hill brings us to 40
per cent of our target of adding 2 GW of new renewables to our
fleet by 2025 under our Clean Electricity Growth Plan."
The facility will consist of a total of 34 Vestas turbines with
construction expected to begin in Q4 2022 and a target commercial
operation date in the second half of 2023. TransAlta will
construct, operate and own the facility. Total project capital is
estimated at approximately US$290
million to US$310 million and
is expected to be financed with existing liquidity and tax equity.
Over 90 per cent of the project costs are captured under executed
fixed price turbine supply agreements with Vestas and executed
engineering, procurement, and construction agreement with
Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives ("IEA"). The facility is
expected to generate total annual earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") of approximately
US$27 million to US$30 million including production tax
credits. It is expected that Horizon Hill will remain a
TransAlta project.
About TransAlta Corporation:
TransAlta owns, operates and develops a diverse fleet of
electrical power generation assets in Canada, the United
States and Australia with a
focus on long-term shareholder value. TransAlta provides
municipalities, medium and large industries, businesses and utility
customers with clean, affordable, energy-efficient and reliable
power. Today, TransAlta is one of Canada's largest producers of wind power and
Alberta's largest producer of
hydroelectric power. For over 100 years, TransAlta has been a
responsible operator and a proud community-member where its
employees work and live. TransAlta aligns its corporate goals with
the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
For more information about TransAlta, visit our web site at
transalta.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking
Information
This news release contains
"forward-looking information", within the meaning of applicable
Canadian securities laws, and "forward-looking statements", within
the meaning of applicable United
States securities laws, including the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively referred to
herein as "forward-looking statements"). In some cases,
forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as
"plan", "expected", "estimated", "will", "continue", "goal",
"target" and similar expressions suggesting future events or future
performance. In particular, this news release contains, without
limitation, statements pertaining to: the timing of turbine
construction and commercial operation of the Horizon Hill Wind
project; the Company's Clean Electricity Growth Plan and achieving
the target of 2 GW of new generation by 2025; the estimated
construction capital for the Horizon Hill project; the expected
project costs and annual EBITDA generation; the financing of the
construction capital and ability to secure tax equity financing;
the Horizon Hill project qualifying for production tax credit; and
the Horizon Hill project remaining a TransAlta project. The
forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based
on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions,
having regard to the Company's experience and its perception of
historical trends, and includes, but is not limited to,
expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions relating to
the extent of regulations pertaining to COVID-19 not becoming
significantly more onerous. These statements are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to
differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking
statements. Some of the factors that could cause such differences
include: the effects of weather, catastrophes and public health
crises, including COVID-19; labour availability; disruptions to the
Company's supply chains; changes to regulatory environment,
including interpretation of production tax credits; armed
hostilities and geopolitical conflicts; failure to obtain necessary
regulatory approvals in a timely fashion, or at all; and other
risks and uncertainties discussed in the Company's materials filed
with the securities regulatory authorities from time to time and as
also set forth in the Company's Management's Discussion and
Analysis and Annual Information Form for the year ended
December 31, 2021. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which reflect TransAlta's expectations only as of the
date of this news release. The purpose of the financial outlooks
contained in this news release are to give the reader information
about management's current expectations and plans and readers are
cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other
purposes and is given as of the date of this news release.
TransAlta disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise
these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
law.
Non-IFRS Measures
This news release contains
references to financial measures that are calculated and presented
using methodologies other than in accordance with International
Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), as issued by the
International Accounting Standards Board, including EBITDA, and
such measures may not be comparable to similar measures presented
by other entities. These non-IFRS measures should not be considered
in isolation or as a substitute for measures prepared in accordance
with IFRS. Certain additional disclosures for these non-IFRS
financial measures have been incorporated by reference and can be
found in TransAlta's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the
year ended December 31, 2021,
available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, on the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission website at
www.sec.gov, and on TransAlta's website under the
Investor Centre section. TransAlta utilizes these measures in
managing the business, including for performance measurement,
capital allocation and valuation purposes and believes that
providing these performance measures on a supplemental basis to its
IFRS results is helpful to investors in assessing the overall
performance of TransAlta's businesses. TransAlta cautions readers
that these non-IFRS financial measures or other financial metrics
may differ from the calculations disclosed by other businesses and,
as a result, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by
other issuers and entities.
Note: All financial figures are in Canadian dollars unless
otherwise indicated.
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SOURCE TransAlta Corporation