Alberta natural gas prices

Canadian Gas & Electric Co. (CG&E), Calgary, Alberta, is reportedly moving forward with the construction phase of a wood-fueled power plant in Grande Prairie, Alberta.

The company was originally prepared to commence construction on the 25-megawatt biomass plant in the spring of 2002, but is just now getting underway with construction.

According to the CG&E Web site, www.canhydro.com, the plant will use Canadian Forest Products Ltd. (Canfor) wood waste to generate both electricity and steam for use in two nearby lumber mills.

CG&E has had as a goal to contract for the sale of up to 100,000 megawatt hours annually, which represents approximately 50 percent of the anticipated operating capacity, to third parties prior to construction starting.

CG&E decided to contract the additional power in order to reduce the project's exposure to Alberta spot power prices, which have been highly volatile over the past two years.