Wind expansion for TransAlta

Article Excerpt

TRANSALTA CORP. $22.52 (Toronto symbol TA; Shares outstanding: 218.4 million; Market cap: $4.9 billion; SI Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%) is expanding its Kent Hills wind farm in New Brunswick. That’s because it won a 25-year power contract from the provincially owned electrical utility. The company will increase Kent Hills’ capacity to 150 megawatts from 96 megawatts in partnership with Natural Forces Technologies Inc., a local wind-power developer. Natural Forces owns 17% of Kent Hills, and will have an option to buy an additional 17% by the end of 2010, when the partners expect to finish the expansion. At that point, TransAlta will have 1,000 megawatts of wind-power generating capacity. The 18-turbine project will cost roughly $100 million. TransAlta earned $66 million, or $0.34 a share, in the third quarter of 2009. TransAlta is a buy. buy…