Alberta Sundance power station

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Alberta Sundance power station is an operating power station of at least 514-megawatts (MW) in Sundance, Parkland, Alberta, Canada with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Alberta Sundance power station	Sundance, Parkland, Alberta, Canada	53.5074, -114.5590 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• Unit 1: 53.5074053, -114.5590027
• Unit 2: 53.5074053, -114.5590027
• Unit 3: 53.5074053, -114.5590027
• Unit 4: 53.5074053, -114.5590027
• Unit 5: 53.5074053, -114.5590027
• Unit 6: 53.5074053, -114.5590027
• Unit 4: 53.50741, -114.559
• Unit 5: 53.50741, -114.559
• Unit 6: 53.50741, -114.559
• Unit 7: 53.50741, -114.559

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	CHP	Start year	Retired year
Unit 1	retired	subbituminous	280 MW	subcritical	-	1970	2018
Unit 2	retired	subbituminous	280 MW	subcritical	-	1973	2018
Unit 3	retired	subbituminous	380 MW	subcritical	-	1976	2020
Unit 4	retired	subbituminous	433 MW	subcritical	-	1976	2022
Unit 5	retired	subbituminous	433 MW	subcritical	-	1977	2021
Unit 6	retired	subbituminous	422 MW	subcritical	-	1980	2021
Unit 4	operating	gas, coal	113 MW	steam turbine	-	2022	-
Unit 5	shelved	gas	730 MW	combined cycle	-	-	-
Unit 6	operating	gas	401 MW	steam turbine	-	2021	-
Unit 7	cancelled	gas	856 MW	combined cycle	-	-	-

CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
Unit 1	TransAlta Generation Ltd	TransAlta Corp
Unit 2	TransAlta Generation Ltd	TransAlta Corp
Unit 3	TransAlta Generation Ltd	TransAlta Corp
Unit 4	TransAlta Generation Ltd	TransAlta Corp
Unit 5	TransAlta Generation Ltd	TransAlta Corp
Unit 6	TransAlta Generation Ltd	TransAlta Corp
Unit 4	TransAlta Corp	TransAlta Corp
Unit 5	TransAlta Corp	TransAlta Corp
Unit 6	TransAlta Corp	TransAlta Corp
Unit 7	TransAlta Corp	TransAlta Corp

Background

The facility was the largest coal-fired electrical generating facility in western Canada, with a total of six generating units.

Retirement and Conversion

In February 2011, TransAlta said it will be closing operations at two of the Sundance coal-fired units because repairs would be too costly. The Sundance 1 and 2 units have been down since December 2010. The units comprise 560 MW of the 2,126 MW Sundance power plant, which operates as a baseload facility for the Alberta electricity system.

The closing of the units could cost consumers more than $200 million in unrealized refunds through Alberta’s Balancing Pool. The agency that oversees power purchase agreements would have to pay that amount to TransAlta as net book value of the plants and to TC Energy as partial payment on the remainder of its contract. TC Energy holds the Sundance units' power purchase agreement and expects reimbursement.

In 2011 TransAlta brought units 1-2 back online because it was demanded under the company’s PPA agreement with TC Energy.

In April 2017 TransAlta said it plans to retire Sundance Units 1-2 effective January 1, 2018, but the utility is seeking approval to have unit 2 on reserve between 2019 and 2021. Additionally, TransAlta plans conversion of Sundance Units 3 to 6 from coal-fired generation to gas-fired generation in the 2021 to 2023 timeframe, for use until the mid-2030s.

In December 2017 TransAlta announced that Unit 3 and Unit 6 would be mothballed until 2020 due to low demand for electricity. The two units then mothballed were actually Unit 3 and Unit 5.

TransAlta retired Sundance Unit 1 effective January 1, 2018, and mothballed Sundance Unit 2 effective January 1, 2018, for a period of up to 2 years.

An October 31, 2018 TransAlta press release states that in the third quarter of 2018 the company "Retired the previously mothballed Sundance Unit 2 due to its relatively short useful life, small size relative to other units, and the capital required to return the unit to service."

In March 2019 TransAlta received approval from the Alberta Electric System Operator to continue mothballing Unit 3 and Unit 5 until November 2021, an extension of 18 months.

In May 2020 TransAlta's CEO Dawn Farrell stated on a quarterly earnings call with investors that Unit 6 would be converted to gas in 2020. The conversion of Unit 6 to gas was completed in February of 2021.

In July 2020 TransAlta officially retired the plant's mothballed Unit 3.

In November 2020, jwnenergy.com reported that TransAlta will stop using coal before January 1, 2022, converting Unit 4 to burn only natural gas before the announced date. It will also end operation at the Highvale coal mine before the end of 2021. When Unit 4 stops burning coal, its maximum output will fall from 406 MW to 113 MW.

The currently mothballed Sundance Unit 5 is undergoing conversion to run solely on gas. When the conversion is complete, the unit will have a maximum output of 730 MW. The conversion is expected to cost approximately $760 million and be operational by 2023. On TransAlta's Q3 2021 earnings call the company's Chief Financial Officer stated that the repowering of Unit 5 had been suspended and that Unit 4 would be retired in early 2022. According to TransAlta President John Kousinioris, Unit 4 was retired in early 2022.

Capacity upgrades

A 53-megawatt uprate to Sundance 5 was completed in 2009 at a cost of $75 million. Additionally, a 44-megawatt upgrade was completed on Sundance 6 in 2001 and a 53-megawatt uprate on Sundance 4 in 2007. In May 2015, TransAlta completed a 15-megawatt uprate on Sundance 3.

Coal supply

TransAlta's Highvale coal mine supplies Sundance with coal. Transalta will end operation at the Highvale Coal Mine at the end of 2021.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datases, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.