MAINSTREAM RENEWABLE Power, the wind-energy developer founded by Eddie O’Connor, has signed a Can$840 million (€514 million) joint venture deal with Alberta Wind Energy Corporation (AWEC) to build wind energy plants in Canada.

The joint venture company is planning to have an initial portfolio of over 400 megawatts (MW) of wind energy plants in operation by 2013. It aims to have the first 46MW Old Man River project up and running in the Pincher Creek area of Alberta by 2010, and the 62MW Windy Point Wind Farm project by 2012.

Mainstream, which was set up by Airtricity founder O’Connor with colleague Fintan Whelan last year shortly after selling Airtricity to Scottish Southern Energy for €1 billion, holds an 80 per cent share of the joint venture, with AWEC taking a 20 per cent stake.

In November, Mainstream announced it had signed a € 785 million deal to develop wind farms in Chile with Andes Energy.