CALGARY, ALBERTA--(CCNMatthews - Aug. 17, 2005) - Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB) (NYSE:ENB) has joined Suncor Energy Products Inc. and EHN Wind Power Canada Inc. to build a 30-megawatt (MW) wind power plant west of Taber in southern Alberta. Enbridge will pay one-third of the cost for a one-third interest in the proposed Cdn$60 million Chin Chute Wind Power Project under the recently signed agreement.
The Chin Chute project would consist of 20 1.5-MW wind turbines to be operated by EHN, the renewable energy subsidiary of the Spanish ACCIONA Group. Subject to regulatory approvals, construction is expected to start in September 2005 with an expected in-service date of late 2006.
Chin Chute is expected to produce enough zero-emission electricity to power 14,000 Alberta homes and displace the equivalent of 88,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year - equal to taking about 13,000 vehicles off the road.
The Chin Chute project is Enbridge's third wind power investment. The first was the 11.2 MW SunBridge Wind Power Project in southwestern Saskatchewan, a 50/50 partnership with Suncor that Enbridge operates. The second was the 30 MW Magrath Wind Power Project in southern Alberta, owned equally by Enbridge, Suncor and EHN. Upon completion of the Chin Chute project,Enbridge's share of electrical capacity from the three wind power plants will be 25.6 MW.
"Participation in the Chin Chute project is consistent with Enbridge's sustainable development strategy of pursuing renewable energy to expand the company's product line," said Stephen J. J. Letwin, Enbridge Group Vice President, Gas Strategy & Corporate Development. "It further positions the company to become a significant player as the wind energy industry develops, and it is consistent with Enbridge's commitment to sound environmental stewardship and corporate social responsibility."
Enbridge Inc., a Canadian company, is a leader in energy transportation and distribution in North America and internationally. As a transporter of energy, Enbridge operates, in Canada and the U.S., the world's longest crude oil and liquids pipeline system. The Company also has international operations and a growing involvement in the natural gas transmission and midstream businesses. As a distributor of energy, Enbridge owns and operates Canada's largest natural gas distribution company, which provides distribution services in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec and in New York State; and is developing a gas distribution system for the Province of New Brunswick. The Company employs more than 4,000 people, primarily in Canada, the United States and South America. Enbridge common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada and on the New York Stock Exchange in the U.S. under the symbol ENB. Information about Enbridge is available on the Company's website at www.enbridge.com.
Suncor Energy Products Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Suncor Energy Inc. Suncor Energy Inc. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Suncor's oil sands business, located near Fort McMurray, Alberta, extracts and upgrades oil sands and markets refinery feedstock and diesel fuel, while operations throughout western Canada produce natural gas. Suncor operates a refining and marketing business in Ontario with retail distribution under the Sunoco brand. U.S.A. downstream assets include pipeline and refining operations in Colorado and Wyoming and retail sales in the Denver area under the Phillips 66 brand. Suncor's common shares (symbol: SU) are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. Sunoco in Canada is separate and unrelated to Sunoco in the United States, which is owned by Sunoco, Inc. of Philadelphia.
EHN Wind Power Canada Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Corporacion Energia Hidroelectrica de Navarra, S.A. (EHN), a company owned 100% by Acciona S.A., which is a group based in Spain dedicated to infrastructures and services aimed at sustainable development and social welfare. EHN, heading the Energy Division of ACCIONA, is a leader in the development, construction, operation and ownership of renewable energy projects. The group has installed 2,662 megawatts (MW) in renewables, of which 1,474 MW belong to the group. In the field of wind energy, it has built 90 wind farms in 7 countries, either for its own or for other companies (almost all of them managed and operated by the company), representing total installed wind capacity of 2,545 MW. Through its subsidiary INGETUR, it manufactures 1,500 KW wind turbines using in-house technology. It has 19 small hydro power plants, 3 biomass plants (one of them a 25 MW facility based on straw combustion) and the largest photovoltaic solar energy plant in Spain in terms of capacity (1.2 MW). It has put in operation a biodiesel plant that uses first-use vegetable oils.
When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "expect", "project", "believe", "estimate", "forecast" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which include statements relating to pending and proposed projects. Such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions pertaining to operating performance, regulatory parameters, weather and economic conditions and, in the case of pending and proposed projects, risks relating to design and construction, regulatory processes, obtaining financing and performance of other parties, including partners, contractors and suppliers.