Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure (CC&L) has acquired a 49 per cent interest in three Ontario wind projects from NextEra Energy Resources, raising its renewables portfolio to almost 2.4 gigawatts of capacity.

Toronto-based CC&L announced the deal on Monday for the Adelaide Wind, Bornish Wind and Goshen Wind projects located in southern Ontario. The three projects total 235 megawatts (MW) of gross capacity.

That capacity is equivalent to the annual energy consumption of over 200,000 Ontario households, CC&L said in its announcement. The energy from the three projects is sold under 20-year power purchase agreements with the Independent Electricity System Operator, Ontario’s electricity market regulator.

Florida-headquartered energy company NextEra will retain a 51 per cent stake in the projects and continue to manage and operate the assets.

CC&L declined to disclose the value of the transaction in an email exchange with Sustainable Biz Canada.

"This acquisition further advances our strategy of building a resilient, long-term portfolio of infrastructure assets underpinned by strong counterparties and stable cash flows," Matt O'Brien, president of CC&L, said in the email exchange.

CC&L, NextEra's portfolio of renewables

O’Brien said the newly acquired projects will strengthen CC&L’s presence in the Ontario renewable energy market and demonstrate its commitment to investing in infrastructure projects that “deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns."

The smallest of the three is the Adelaide project with a gross capacity of approximately 60 MW. In the middle is the 73 MW Bornish project. The Goshen project is the largest asset with 102 MW of gross capacity.

In Ontario, the company has also invested in the 180 MW Armow Wind and 149 MW Grand Renewable Wind projects. In Alberta, it acquired the Sharp Hills project in 2024, a 297 MW wind farm located in the southeastern area of the province.

Outside of Canada, CC&L has stakes in U.S. wind energy projects that total 363 MW of capacity. 

The company’s portfolio of wind projects amounts to over 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy capacity across 10 assets.

O'Brien said CC&L is "actively seeking to continue the growth" of its renewables portfolio.

"This transaction reflects both the strong fundamentals we continue to see in the Canadian renewables market and the ability of our team to execute on complex acquisitions with leading industry partners," Eric Reidel, managing director of CC&L, said in the email exchange.

NextEra has been developing Canadian renewable energy assets since 2006, with a portfolio of nine wind facilities and two energy storage facilities currently operating. The wind projects have the capacity of generating 574 MW of energy, and the energy storage assets can reserve a total of four MW of power.

Canada's renewables market showing growth

Market research suggests renewable energy is a strong candidate to provide the majority of Canada’s new power-generating infrastructure.

The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) and Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors reports if the country is to meet future electricity demand with affordability and reliability in mind, 70 per cent of new capacity through 2050 will have to come from wind, solar and battery storage assets.

From 2019 to 2024, Canada’s installed capacity of wind, solar and battery storage grew by 46 per cent, CanREA said, with almost five GW of wind infrastructure added.

Provinces that have announced additional major renewable energy procurements include British Columbia, Quebec and Nova Scotia.