EDMONTON, ALBERTA -- ( Dec. 18, 2014) - Valard Construction, a Quanta Services company, announced today that Alberta PowerLine, a limited partnership formed by Quanta Services and ATCO Group, was selected by the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) for the Fort McMurray West 500 Kilovolt (kV) Transmission Project. Led by Valard Construction, the team will leverage the capabilities of a number of Quanta's operating units to provide turnkey EPC services for the entire project.
"Valard and ATCO have a decades-long relationship successfully building northern Alberta's electricity infrastructure, and through our combined expertise, resources, safety record and deep roots in Alberta, we are the perfect fit for this historic project," said Adam Budzinski, president of Valard Construction. "Valard started in Grande Prairie, Alberta 36 years ago and now has over 3,000 employees safely building many of the largest, most critical utility infrastructure projects across Canada."
The Fort McMurray West 500 kV Transmission Project is the first under Alberta's newly created competitive transmission process, attracting interest from companies around the world, including Asia, Europe, South America and North America. After an extensive process that examined technical, financial and development expertise, the AESO chose Alberta PowerLine.
"We are proud to team with ATCO on this industry leading project. We believe this is the largest engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) electric transmission project ever awarded in North America and our selection for this project demonstrates confidence in our ability to work with partners to successfully deliver cost- and risk-efficient infrastructure solutions to the competitive transmission marketplace," said Jim O'Neil, president and chief executive officer of Quanta Services. "Quanta brings significant scope, scale and financial resources, as well as a track record of safely executing large, complex projects, to the Fort McMurray West 500 kV Transmission Project."
The Fort McMurray West 500 kV Transmission Project will consist of approximately 500 kilometres of transmission line between the Wabamun area west of Edmonton and the Fort McMurray area and two new 500 kV substations. Quanta expects construction to begin in 2017 after the necessary permits and rights of way for the project are obtained, and expects to complete the project in 2019.
Alberta PowerLine was formed with investments from both Quanta Capital Solutions, Inc., a Quanta Services company, and Canadian Utilities Limited, an ATCO company. This transmission line, which will increase the capacity of the electricity system and address increasing growth in northeastern Alberta, is designed to satisfy objectives identified in the AESO Long-term Transmission System Plan. When complete, the new 500 kV transmission line will form an important part of Alberta's electricity grid. The Fort McMurray West 500 kV Transmission Project is the first to be awarded through a world-wide competitive concession tender process, which was designed by the AESO and approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission in February 2013.