A regulator said yes. The plant still has to start
TransAlta (TSX: TA) agreed June 3 to buy Mountain Peak Power and Canyon Peak Power from Blackstone-backed Kindle Energy. Combined capacity is 318 megawatts near Denver. Mountain Peak is 162 megawatts and has run since September 2025. Canyon Peak is 156 megawatts and was aimed at commercial service in the third quarter of 2026. Both use six GE LM2500XPRESS turbines. United Power takes Mountain Peak for 30 years. CORE Electric Cooperative takes Canyon Peak for 25 years. Fuel, operating costs, and capital pass through. The company put the package at US$1.0 billion: US$750 million of senior secured project debt and US$250 million of equity funded by a concurrent C$350 million bought deal at C$19.20 a share.
Utility Dive reported August 13 that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the transfer. The same write-up used 319 megawatts and 163/157 as the rounded plant sizes. Use the company's 318, 162, and 156 unless FERC's order is in front of you. TransAlta still says close is early in the fourth quarter, and it still needs Canyon Peak in service. A FERC stamp is not title.
The cash they sell is contracted, not Alberta spot
Management said the assets should add about US$80 million of adjusted EBITDA a year and about US$33 million of free cash flow, with some room from availability incentives. CEO Joel Hunter said June 3 the cash is meant for other files, including Centralia and Alberta data centres. Centralia is the Washington coal plant the U.S. Department of Energy ordered to keep running. TransAlta wants to convert it to gas under a Puget Sound Energy deal. That is a separate project. Do not staple Denver peakers to an Alberta AI campus.
Neutral read
TA is on the listed utilities list. FERC approval is the new fact this month. The plants are not TransAlta's until Canyon Peak starts and the purchase closes. Watch Q3 commercial operation, the Q4 close notice, and whether those US$33 million dollars actually show up as cash instead of a slide. The June equity raise already diluted the share count. That bill is paid even if the deal slips.