Capital Power joins Powering Past Coal Alliance to further transition to clean energy

The Capital Power Corporation this week joined an international, public-private coalition known as the Powering Past Coal Alliance to support the transition from traditional coal generation to cleaner, renewable energy.

Through the alliance, co-chaired by the U.S. and Canadian governments, the Canada-based company joins other sub-national governments, businesses, and organizations. Capital Power is a builder, owner, and operator of utility-scale generation facilities, including renewables and thermal power, with more than 6,400 MW of power generation capacity spread across North America. Additionally, it has a stated goal of ending its coal usage by 2023.

“It’s our responsibility to do our part to help society meet the long-term challenges facing our planet,” said Kate Chisholm, Capital Power’s chief sustainability officer and senior vice president of Planning and Stakeholder Relations. “We have a long history of saying what we’ll do, then doing what we say – and our actions to move off coal, invest in hydrogen and CCUS readiness, and invest in a sustainable energy future for Canada demonstrate just that. Our strategy clearly demonstrates alignment with the Powering Past Coal Alliance–we’re committed to collaboration and working to accelerate the clean energy transition, with a focus on ensuring the ongoing availability of reliable, affordable power for our grids, accessibility for all, and a just transition for affected communities and employees.”

In addition to its anti-coal pledge in the short term, Capital Power has also committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The path to this has included optimization, efficiency, and emissions reduction investments, including a $1 billion initiative to revamp its coal-fired Genesee Generating Station natural gas power generation six years ahead of legislative mandate in 2023.

Further, Genesee Units 1 & 2 will be repowered with natural gas combined cycle technology capable of processing hydrogen and carbon conversion. Meanwhile, Genesee Unit 3 will be converted to a straight natural gas capacity of 560 MW. This is predicted to lead to 3.4 million tons of annual carbon emissions reductions.

Carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) technologies have also factored heavily into Capital Power’s efforts to achieve extra carbon emissions reductions.