Alterra Power Corp. a subsidiary of Innergex Renewable Energy Inc., is a diversified

renewable power Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

generation company based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada. It was formed in 2011 through the merger of Magma Energy Corp. and Plutonic Power Corp. It develops, owns, acquires and operates hydroelectric, wind, solar energy and geothermal projects. On February 6, 2018, Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. completed the acquisition of Alterra including all its assets.

Merger

On 7 March 2011, it was announced that Magma Energy and Plutonic Power would merge to create Alterra Power Corp. Magma Energy was renamed Alterra Power and each shareholder of Plutonic Power received 2.38 shares of Magma for each Plutonic share held. As a result, the merged company owns two geothermal power plants in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, and one in Nevada (since sold), one

run of river Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectricity, hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all ...

hydro plant and one wind farm in

and an option on a solar project in Ontario.

Power plants

Projects

Toba Montrose Hydro

East Toba River (123MW) and Montrose Creek (73MW) are two run-of-river hydroelectric plants 18 km apart, they have operated since in 2010 with a combined capacity of 196 MW and generate an average of 720 GWh of electricity annually, which is contracted to B.C. Hydro until 2045.

Upper Toba Valley

The Upper Toba Valley Hydroelectric project originally planned two renewable power facilities constructed 90 km north of Powell River, BC at the headwaters of

Toba Inlet , image = Toba Inlet.jpg , image_size = 280px , alt = , caption = Looking southwest toward the mouth of Toba Inlet , image_bathymetry = Carte baies Desolation et Bute.svg , alt_bathymetry ...

the first is on Jimmie Creek which flows west into Toba River and the second on the Upper Toba River. Installed capacity of the two facilities was to be 124 MW with an expected annual energy generation of 316 GW hr/yr. Alterra received an Energy Purchase Agreement from BC Hydro to construct the Upper Toba facility. In 2013 Alterra also received an Energy Purchase Agreement from BC Hydro to construct the 62MW Jimmie Creek facility. In 2016 Alterra Power Corp. announced that the Jimmie Creek facility had achieved its full output of 62 MW. It is located at

Solar power expansions

In early 2011, Plutonic Power agreed, together with GE Energy financial Services, to purchase three proposed photovoltaic power plants in Ontario from First Solar. The three plants will have a total capacity of 50 MW, divided between Amherstburg (10MW), Belmont (20MW) and Walpole (20MW). This represents a first venture into

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...

for Plutonic Power although engineering, procurement, construction and operation will still be provided by First Solar.

Orka's controversy

In 2010, during the

Icelandic financial crisis Icelandic refers to anything of, from, or related to Iceland and may refer to: *Icelandic people *Icelandic language *Icelandic alphabet * Icelandic cuisine See also * Icelander (disambiguation) * Icelandic Airlines, a predecessor of Icelandai ...

, Magma Energy acquired 98.5% of shares in the Icelandic geothermal power company HS Orka. The deal created an opposition in

. On May 21, 2010 Icelandic singer

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

wrote an open letter in the newspaper

Reykjavík Grapevine Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a p ...

, calling on the Icelandic government to "do everything in its power to revoke the contracts with Magma Energy". The deal was approved by the Icelandic Government. Recently Alterra as operator has 67%, while the Icelandic pension funds holds 33%.

References

External links

* {{Vancouver Corporations Renewable energy companies of Canada Geothermal energy in Canada Hydroelectric power companies of Canada Companies based in Vancouver Canadian companies established in 2011 Energy companies established in 2011 Renewable resource companies established in 2011 2011 establishments in British Columbia Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange