TransAlta Alberta Sundance 4 coal unit shut

NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - TransAlta Corp's (TA.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) 406-megawatt Unit 4 at the Sundance coal-fired power plant in Alberta shut on Nov. 17, the Alberta Electric System Operator said in a report.

The 2,124 MW Sundance station is located about 40 miles (70 km) west of Edmonton, Alberta, on the south shore of Wabamun Lake. There are six units at the station, including two 280 MW Units 1 (which entered service in 1970) and 2 (1973), the 353 MW Unit 3 (1976), two 406 MW Units 4 (1977) and 5 (1978), and the 399 MW Unit 6 (1980).

The plant consumes about 9 million tonnes of coal each year from TransAlta's Highvale Mine.

Power from the plant is governed by a power purchase agreement from Jan. 1, 2001 until Dec. 31, 2017, for Units 1 and 2, and Dec. 31, 2020, for Units 3, 4, 5 and 6, the company said on its website. Additionally, 53 MW of power from Unit 4 and 44 MW of power from Unit 6 are sold through the PPA Buyers to the Alberta Power Pool.

Unit 1 shut on Nov. 17.

All other units were available for service.

One MW powers about 1,000 homes in Alberta.

TransAlta, of Calgary, Alberta, owns and operates some 9,000 MW of generating capacity and markets energy commodities in Canada, the United States, Mexico and Australia. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by John Picinich)