Battle River power station

From Global Energy Monitor

Battle River power station is an operating power station of at least 540-megawatts (MW) in Forestburg, Flagstaff, 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)
Battle River power station Forestburg, Flagstaff, Alberta, Canada 52.46928, -112.135056 (exact)

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

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5: 52.46928, -112.135056
  • Unit 4, Unit 5: 52.46928, -112.135

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology CHP Start year Retired year
Unit 1 retired coal - subbituminous 30 subcritical 1956 2000
Unit 2 retired coal - subbituminous 30 subcritical 1964 2000
Unit 3 retired coal - subbituminous 149 subcritical 1969 2019
Unit 4 retired coal - subbituminous, fossil gas - LNG 155 subcritical 1975 2021
Unit 4 operating[1][2][3] gas[1][3][4] 155[5][3][6][4] steam turbine[7] not found 2021[8]
Unit 4 retired coal - subbituminous, fossil gas - LNG 155 subcritical 1975 2021
Unit 5 retired coal - subbituminous, fossil gas - LNG 385 subcritical 1981 2021
Unit 5 operating[1][2][3] gas[1][3][4] 385[5][3][6] steam turbine[7] not found 2021[8]
Unit 5 retired coal - subbituminous, fossil gas - LNG 385 subcritical 1981 2021

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 Heartland Generation Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 2 Heartland Generation Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 3 Heartland Generation Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 4 Heartland Generation Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 4 Heartland Generation[9] Energy Capital Partners [100.0%]
Unit 4
Unit 5 Heartland Generation Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 5 Heartland Generation[9] Energy Capital Partners [100.0%]
Unit 5

Unit-level fuel conversion details:

Unit 4: Unknown or atypical conversion status Unit 5: Unknown or atypical conversion status Project-level coal details

  • Coal source(s): Paintearth and Vesta mines

Background

The plant is owned and operated by ATCO. Coal is provided by the Forestburg Collieries operated by West Moreland Coal.[10]

Units 1 and 2 were retired and dismantled in 2000.[11]

In August 2018 the Alberta Utilities Commission approved a plan for ATCO to convert all units at the power station to run on gas instead of coal.[12] ATCO had previously announced that it hoped to make this conversion before current power purchase agreements expired at the end of 2020.[10] As of December 31, 2018 Unit 4 had been converted to be co-firing 50% on coal and 50% on gas.[13] ATCO plans to completely convert Unit 5 to gas in 2019.[13]

In September 2019 ATCO sold Battle River power station as well as Sheerness power station to Heartland Generation Ltd., a subsidiary of U.S. private-equity fund Energy Capital Partners. The sale includes the capital required to convert the plants from coal to natural gas.[14]

Unit 3 was retired on Dec. 31, 2019.[15]

In April 2020 Heartland Generation received approval from the Alberta Utilities Commission to convert Unit 5 to be co-fired by gas and coal and operate it as a co-fired plant through Dec. 31, 2022.[16]

As of November 2021, the power station was reportedly fully converted to run on gas. Heartland Generation was the first large-scale generator in Alberta to phase out coal-fired energy.[17]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20210603223730/https://www.auc.ab.ca/regulatory_documents/ProceedingDocuments/2020/25493-D01-2020.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 03 June 2021. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220210130055/https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/heartland-generation-announces-completion-of-off-coal-transitions-at-battle-river-and-sheerness-generating-stations-874998181.html. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 https://web.archive.org/web/20220903072252/https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/news/heartland-generation-eyeing-refit-of-battle-river-power-plant/. Archived from the original on 03 September 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220804172121/https://www.albertamsa.ca/assets/Documents/Q4-2021-Quarterly-Report.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 04 August 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 5.0 5.1 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1n7FRTBR404DUeO1lDrw7808jSs-azrXpx23VQ-GFqdY/edit#gid=1091775677&fvid=1184756976. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. 6.0 6.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220404162914/https://www.canadianutilities.com/Investors/Documents/MDA/CU_2018_YE_MDA.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 04 April 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. 7.0 7.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20221128210726/https://www.heartlandgeneration.com/operations. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. 8.0 8.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20221012102738/https://www.heartlandgeneration.com/post/heartland-generation-announces-completion-of-off-coal-transitions-at-battle-river-and-sheerness-generating-stations. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. 9.0 9.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20240125005516/https://www.heartlandgeneration.com/. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. 10.0 10.1 Battle River Generating Station Battle River Generating Station], Wikipedia, accessed January 2019
  11. Coal Fired Plants in Canada, Industcards, Sep. 16, 2012
  12. Battle River Power Plant Alterations, Alberta Utilities Commission, Aug. 27, 2018
  13. 13.0 13.1 CANADIAN UTILITIES LIMITED MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS, Canadian Utilities Limited, Dec. 31, 2018
  14. Canadian Utilities sells Canadian generation business, World Coal, Oct. 1, 2019
  15. Notice of Retirement - Battle River 3 (BR3) effective January 1, 2020, Alberta Electric System Operator, accessed November 2020
  16. Battle River Power Plant Amendment, Alberta Utilities Commission, Apr. 21, 2020
  17. Heartland Generation Announces Completion of Off Coal Transitions at Battle River and Sheerness Generating Stations., Heartland Generation, Nov. 9, 2021

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.