Ms. Dawn Farrell reports

TRANSALTA USING TESLA BATTERY STORAGE TECHNOLOGY IN ALBERTA'S FIRST LARGE-SCALE ENERGY STORAGE PROJECT

TransAlta Corp. has been awarded $250,000 from Alberta Innovates-Energy & Environment Solutions (AI-EES) to help launch Alberta's first large-scale commercial energy storage project.

TransAlta will use commercial-scale lithium-ion batteries to reduce energy costs for the customer. Five commercial-scale Tesla Powerpack batteries will be installed, each about the size of a household fridge, in a medium-sized building, such as a large grocery store, apartment block, postsecondary institution building or small office tower.

"TransAlta is at the forefront of our industry in using innovation to improve environmental performance in power generation, and we are now implementing new and sustainable ways to store energy, setting the stage for the future," said president and chief executive officer Dawn Farrell. "This project demonstrates our commitment to sustainable technology advancement."

The technology allows a building owner to purchase electricity during times of low demand and low prices -- after midnight, for example -- store it in the on-site battery units, and then use that power during periods of high demand when prices peak, typically in the late afternoon and early evening.

The project should be running in late 2016. More than half of the total project costs will be covered by TransAlta as part of its commitment to the demonstration project.

AI-EES's next-generation energy storage technologies initiative is an international competition seeking energy storage technologies with the highest potential for Alberta. AI-EES received more than 50 proposals.

"Clean power generation is a critical challenge for Alberta. Our goal is to have 20 per cent electricity generation from renewable energy in 2030. These energy storage projects will be instrumental in harnessing Alberta's renewable resources and integrating them on the electricity grid affordably and efficiently," said Dr. Mark Summers, director of renewable energy for AI-EES.

TransAlta believes that the wide-scale deployment of lithium-ion batteries will encourage more wind and solar power to be installed in Alberta, further improving the sustainability of Alberta's overall renewable energy supply.

"Home and business energy storage is just starting to gain momentum in the [United States], with California leading the way due to the incentives offered there, but our project will be the first of its kind in Alberta," said Dan Chapman, TransAlta's lead engineer, technology. "This is a major step forward in putting new technology to work in Canada, and Tesla is already a leader in this field. We're now looking for a customer to partner with us on this project."

We seek Safe Harbor.