S&P Global Market Intelligence ($):

A total of 9,177 MW of power generation capacity is expected to be added to the Canadian grid in 2019, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. With 161 MW of capacity set to be retired, Canada could see a net gain of 9,016 MW.

Wind and solar resources comprise about three-fourths of the new capacity expected to come into service this year, while the major retirement is a coal-fired plant. In two provinces, Alberta and Ontario, the electric system is managed by an independent system operator. In most other provinces and territories, the system is owned by the local government.

At varying paces, provinces and territories have been reducing their fossil-fueled power generation capacity and replacing it with lower-emitting resources. In Alberta, for example, where 62% of Canada’s planned capacity additions for 2019 is located, the province has ordered all coal-fired capacity to be shut down by 2030, prompting utilities to both convert existing facilities to gas-fired capability and add new resources. In Ontario, all coal-fired generation capacity has already been shut, and the province has pushed for a combination of renewables, gas and nuclear resources.

Wind accounts for over half of Canada’s planned capacity additions, at 5,200 MW. The Henvey Inlet Wind Project (Nigig Wind Farm) is the largest single project under construction, at 300 MW. U.S.-headquartered independent power producer Pattern Energy Group LP and Henvey Inlet First Nation subsidiary Nigig Power Corp. share ownership of the project, which is scheduled to begin operating in March on Georgian Bay. Ontario’s grid operator, the Independent Electricity System Operator, has a contract for the plant’s output.

Solar accounts for 20% of scheduled 2019 additions, totaling 1,804 MW. The largest solar facility under construction is the Loyalist Solar Project, a 54-MW project in eastern Ontario. BluEarth Renewables Inc. and Mohawks of the Bay of Quinteshare ownership of the project, which is scheduled to begin operating in March, and the IESO will purchase the output.

One Alberta coal plant accounts for almost all of the generating capacity to be retired in Canada this year. Independent power producer Maxim Power Corp. plans to shut its 150-MW HR Milner Generating Station (M1), which began operating in 1972, in December. It will be replaced with a larger gas-fired facility.

More ($): Canada’s grid to add a net 9,000 MW of capacity in 2019