It announced a consortium led by Toronto-based Aecon Group July 2 won an approximately $1.2 billion engineering, procurement and construction contract to build the first phase of the Greenlight Electricity Centre, a $3.2 billion combined cycle power project in Alberta that is expected to become one of the province’s largest new sources of dispatchable generation.
The contract was awarded to Greenlight Electricity Center Limited Partnership, a Pembina Pipeline Corp. company, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and project developer Kineticor Asset Management, after the project reached a final investment decision earlier in the day.
Aecon said its share of the award will be added to the company’s third-quarter construction backlog.
Under the contract, the TRA consortium, in which Aecon has a majority stake with Spain-based Técnicas Reunidas Alberta Inc., will provide EPC and commissioning services.
The works include the civil construction of the current and future power islands, piping, structural, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation systems, as well as balance of plant facilities, a gas metering station, a switching station and a substation.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the third quarter, with commercial operation targeted for the second half of 2030.
Jean-Louis Servranckx, president and CEO of Aecon, called the award evidence of “unprecedented demand” for AI-enabled energy infrastructure and data centers in North America. He added that the contract demonstrates Aecon’s ability to deliver “large-scale, mission-critical infrastructure”.
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Combined cycle plant designed for gradual expansion
The Greenlight Electricity Center is planned as a phased combined cycle generating station in Sturgeon County, northeast of Edmonton, the provincial capital. The initial phase will produce 932MW, with the site designed to expand to a permitted capacity of 1,864MW as demand grows.
The Greenlight Electricity Center will be built in Sturgeon County, northeast of Edmonton, within Alberta’s Industrial Heartland. The first phase of the combined cycle natural gas generating plant will provide 932 MW of capacity, with the site designed to expand to 1.86 GW as demand grows.
Map courtesy of Greenlight Electricity Center
Alberta Utilities Commission documents outline modular construction in increments of approximately 466 MW on a 98-hectare site about 8.5 km east of Gibbons, with full development expected by 2031.
Project documents show the facility will use combined cycle technology that captures waste heat from natural gas turbines to generate additional electricity using steam turbines.
The first phase will use two Siemens Energy SGT6-8000H gas turbines, two SST6-5000 KN steam turbines and two SGen6-3000W generators under a fixed price supply agreement with Siemens Energy, together with a long-term service agreement covering the generation equipment.
Plans also call for new switching and transmission interconnection, fuel gas infrastructure, air-cooled condensers and support plant balancing systems. The project is being designed with readiness for carbon capture.
Greenlight and the unnamed data center customer have entered into a long-term power supply agreement under which the facility will provide the entire 932 MW of generation capacity through a tolling arrangement that includes capacity and usage-based payments.
The plant will need about 150 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, according to Pembina, which said Greenlight has secured long-term transportation capacity through the natural gas pipeline known as the Alliance Heartland Expansion Project, the TC Energy NGTL gas system and other commercial agreements.
Beyond the EPC contract, Pembina will oversee construction management work for the project, while an outside contractor will operate the facility under a long-term services agreement after completion.
The partners said the project has received its key regulatory approvals and around 85% of project costs have already been secured through fixed price agreements, including the EPC contract and the Siemens Energy equipment package. The remaining project financing will combine asset-level debt with equity contributions.
Construction is expected to peak at about 1,500 workers and require nearly 9 million man-hours, according to the Alberta government and project developers. The facility will also add dispatchable generation to Alberta’s electricity system.
“Alberta Natural Gas is powering the digital economy with this significant investment in electricity generation,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a statement. He said the investment would create thousands of jobs, generate significant economic growth and produce hundreds of millions of dollars in provincial revenue.
