Innergex $1.1B Alterra deal adds to U.S. power push

Innergex Renewable Energy Inc.’s purchase of a rival company on Tuesday is the latest in a raft of acquisitions by Canadian utility firms, which are eagerly looking to expand their foothold in the U.S. electricity market as domestic growth opportunities flatten out.

The company closed its purchase of Vancouver-based Alterra Power Corp. for $8.25 per share, totalling $1.1 billion including debt. The deal was initially announced in October.

The acquisition will immediately boost the generating capacity of Quebec-based Innergex by 485 megawatts, largely through run-of-river projects in Canada. Alterra has eight power plants with combined capacity to generate 825MW of hydro, wind, geothermal and solar in Canada, the U.S. and Iceland. Alterra is also constructing the 200MW Flat Top wind project in central Texas, which is expected to be operating by mid-2018.

The deal will help Innergex secure a foothold in the highly soughtafter U.S. market, which has seen a surge in interest from Canadian suppliers as various states look to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

As various state governments, particularly in the Northeastern U.S., continue to phase out nuclear and coal-fired power facilities, demand for cleaner supplies of electricity is expected to soar, according to observers.