Overview of investment
The Cascade Power Project located in Alberta, Canada is a 900-megawatt low emissions electricity generating facility, due to be built in 2023 and expected to supply over 8% of the province’s average demand. Cascade is strategically situated in proximity to significant gas reserves as well as the NGTL System – a 25,000 km pipeline system – that means the project can avoid disrupting adjacent land and biodiversity.
Public benefits:
- Catalysing local economic development
- Lowering emissions
- Facilitating energy transition
- Sector
- Utilities
- Investment date
- August 2020
- Fund
- DIF VI
- DIF ownership stake
- 33.3%
900MW
62%
625+
ESG impacts
Canada is committed to slashing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 45% by 2030 and key to achieving this will be a transition away from the coal-fired power generation which provides almost half of Alberta’s electricity. Remarkably, Alberta currently contributes over 50% of Canada’s GHG emissions.
Natural gas is an important bridging fuel in this transition and the 900-megawatt natural-gas fired Cascade electricity generating facility, will result in one of the largest emissions reduction opportunities in Canada’s electricity sector.
The project will also provide local economic benefits, creating over 3 million work hours of labour and 600 jobs during the construction of the project which are being sourced from the local Alberta community. Crucially the project aims to retrain workers from the ‘old energy’ sector helping ensure they are not left behind by the low carbon transition.
The project maintains a robust social commitment to the people and communities it serves. Cascade is currently working with the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC), to help support education for the indigenous First Nations people to train for relevant power plant operations roles.
“Local workers from the coal industry are being retrained to build a power facility that will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. Creating local economic opportunity is just as critical as emissions reductions to a successful energy transition, and the Cascade Project aims to show we can achieve both.”
Vincent Liu,
Managing Director, DIF Capital Partners
