The owner of Belco, Algonquin Power & Utilities Corporation, has completed the sale of its non-regulated renewable energy business - excluding the company’s hydro fleet - to a wholly-owned subsidiary of New York-headquartered LS Power.

The Oakville, Ontario-based company said it intends to use the net proceeds from the transaction to pay down existing debt and strengthen its balance sheet.

“We are pleased with the timely and successful completion of the sale of our renewable energy business,” said Chris Huskilson, chief executive of Algonquin.

“This transaction, coupled with the recent sale of our 42.2 per cent ownership stake in Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc on December 12, 2024, achieves a pivotal step in our journey to transform AQN into a pure-play regulated utility with reduced complexity.

“Though there is still work to be done, passing this milestone should enable a greater focus on increasing the pace of this transition.”

LS Power said the acquisition strategically expands its renewable energy portfolio, adding to a fleet of more than 23,000 megawatts of top-performing renewable, energy storage, flexible gas and renewable fuels generation capacity, as well as a deep pipeline of projects in various stages of development.

With the close of the transaction, LS Power formed a new company, Clearlight Energy, to manage and grow the acquired operating wind and solar assets, which are located throughout the United States and Canada, and include 44 projects with more than 3,000 MW of generating capacity.

“Establishing Clearlight Energy is an exciting achievement to support the transition to cleaner energy during this pivotal moment, and I am thrilled to work alongside a highly capable team at Clearlight and LS Power,” said Jeff Norman, chief executive of Clearlight Energy.

Mr Norman was previously president of renewables at Algonquin, and has almost 30 years of experience managing, operating, and developing energy projects and utilities throughout North America.

Algonquin’s renewable energy business includes a development pipeline of 8,000 MW of renewable and storage projects throughout North America.

Clearlight Energy is acquiring 1,800 MW of the development pipeline, which includes projects in Canada and those that are co-located with the existing operating assets.

REV Renewables, a subsidiary of LS Power, will be acquiring the remaining 6,200 MW of development projects within the United States.