Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners starts construction of Canada’s largest onshore wind power project

Buffalo Plains is expected to be fully operational by December 2024 and will, once completed, be the largest onshore wind farm constructed in Canada.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), on behalf of its Copenhagen Infrastructure IV (CI IV) fund, has begun construction on Buffalo Plains, a 495 MW wind farm consisting of 83 Siemens-Gamesa wind turbines located in Vulcan County, Alberta.

CIP acquired Buffalo Plains in 2022 from ABO Wind. During construction, the project will create approximately 250 full-time jobs and, once operational, will produce enough clean energy to power more than 240,000 homes, providing substantial economic and environmental benefits to the province of Alberta.

Borea, Canada’s leading renewable energy construction company, will be responsible for the construction of the project. Amazon, the technology company based in Seattle, Washington, has signed a power purchase agreement to procure 415 MW of output from Buffalo Plains.

“We are pleased to announce the start of construction on the Buffalo Plains wind project, an important step in expanding our portfolio of best-in-class renewable energy projects in North America,” said Tim Evans, partner and Head of North America at CIP. “This premier project demonstrates CIP’s unique ability to execute on large and complex infrastructure projects that will provide local jobs and clean, renewable wind energy for many years to come.”

Buffalo Plains represents CIP’s second successful investment in Canada, following its investment in Travers Solar – Canada’s largest solar project – which completed construction in 2022. Buffalo Plains is an important part of the 29 GW+ portfolio of renewable generating assets – including offshore wind, onshore wind, solar PV, battery storage, pumped storage hydro, and transmission – that CIP has in development, construction or operation across North America.

Norton Rose Fulbright and FIH Partners supported CIP on the transaction.

Founded in 2012, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S (CIP) today is the world’s largest dedicated fund manager within greenfield renewable energy investments and a global leader in offshore wind. The funds managed by CIP focus on investments in offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity, storage, advanced bioenergy, and Power-to-X.

CIP manages 11 funds and has to date raised approximately EUR 26 billion for investments in energy and associated infrastructure from more than 150 international institutional investors. CIP has approximately 400 employees and 12 offices around the world. For more information, visit www.cip.com