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Coal giant offers cash for biggest clean rival
Canada's biggest generator of dirty power has launched a $1.5 billion hostile bid for the country's leading developer of clean power, including the two largest wind farms in Ontario.
Analysts say TransAlta Corp.'s proposed acquisition of Calgary-based Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. could be the first of many moves in an energy sector that sees big polluters trying to green up their assets, partly to limit their exposure to carbon-emission penalties once a national cap-and-trade system is introduced.
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"This is a big public indication of what's to come," said MacMurray Whale, an alternative energy analyst with Toronto-based Cormark Securities. "It highlights how valuable low-carbon power production is, and it's a massive opportunity in Canada."
