PCL, Overland to start construction on $1.5B Cascade gas plant west of Edmonton

The new natural gas plant in Edson, Alta. will have capacity to generate 900 MW of electricity

Following a positive investment decision from the project’s developers, PCL Construction and Overland Contracting Canada have a green light to start construction on a major new natural gas generating station in Edson, Alta.

Alberta-based Kineticor Resource Corp., along with a range of backers — Macquarie Capital, OPTrust, Axium Infrastructure and DIF Capital Partners — signed off on the $1.5 billion Cascade Power Project Aug. 27.

Construction is expected to start immediately, at the site roughly midway between Edmonton and Jasper.

The combined cycle natural gas-fired generating facility will have capacity to produce 900 megawatts of power. Kineticor said the plant will support Alberta’s shift away from coal power, generating low emissions electricity to meet about eight per cent of the province’s power demands.

“With Alberta contributing over 50 percent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation, Cascade is expected to result in one of the largest emissions reduction opportunities in the country’s electricity sector,” the company said in a release.

BPC, a construction consortium made up of affiliates of PCL and Overland, itself subsidiary of U.S.-based Black & Veatch Co., are responsible for delivering the generating station under an engineering, procurement and construction services contract.

At peak, the project is expected to create approximately 600 jobs.

Work on the new gas plant is scheduled to take about three years, with the facility sending its first power to Alberta’s grid in 2023.