OREANDA-NEWS. GDF SUEZ announces that 109 MW of new renewable capacity has recently been commissioned in Canada, comprising the 99 MW Cape Scott wind farm and the 10 MW Beckwith solar installation.

With the addition of these projects, GDF SUEZ Canada and its partners Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Fiera Axium Infrastructure now operate a total renewable energy portfolio of 680 MW. GDF SUEZ holds a 40% share in this consortium.

Gerard Mestrallet, President and CEO of GDF SUEZ said: “These 2 renewable projects strengthen the Group's position as one of the leading renewable energy generators in Canada. We are proud to continue demonstrating our commitment to environmentally sound power generation within a market which strongly supports renewable energy development and offers attractive growth opportunities for GDF SUEZ.”

The 99MW Cape Scott Wind Project on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, has entered commercial operation under a 20-year power purchase agreement with BC Hydro. The USD 310 million wind project is expected to generate over 290 GWh of clean, renewable energy annually.

The 10 MW Beckwith Solar project in Ontario has also entered commercial operation under a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Ontario Power Authority. Beckwith doubles the size of the Group's solar capacity in Canada and is the Group's twelfth renewable energy installation in the country. Located approximately 50 kilometers from Ottawa, the USD 45 million project, developed under Ontario's Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Program, consists of 44,000 panels and will generate clean, renewable energy for the Ontario homes.

Nearly 17% of all of Canada's power production is served by renewable resources such as hydro, wind, biomass, and solar. The focus of the country's provinces on fulfilling their long-term energy targets offers GDF SUEZ a number of large and small-scale renewable investment opportunities.

GDF SUEZ manages a range of energy businesses in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, including electricity generation and cogeneration, natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) distribution and sales, and retail energy sales and related services to commercial and industrial customers. GDF SUEZ Energy North America owns and/or operates cogeneration, steam, and chilled water facilities, including those in construction, representing a capacity of approximately 13,000 MW of electricity generation, 3.5 million pounds per hour of steam, and 37,000 tons per hour of chilled water. Renewable fuels-wind, hydro, biomass, and solar-power 32 of the facilities in the portfolio. The company's natural gas assets include an LNG receiving terminal just north of Boston, Massachusetts, and natural gas distribution networks and pipelines in Mexico that serve more than 400,000 customers.