TransAlta and Canadian Hydro Developers reach agreement on acquisition at $5.25 cash per share

TransAlta Corporation (TSX: TA)(NYSE: TAC) and Canadian Hydro Developers, Inc. (TSX: KHD) have entered into a definitive pre-acquisition agreement (the "Agreement") pursuant to which TransAlta's wholly-owned subsidiary will amend its existing offer (the "Amended Offer") to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Canadian Hydro. The Amended Offer will provide for $5.25 per share in cash. The Amended Offer, which has a total value of approximately $1.6 billion, has the unanimous support of the Boards of Directors of both companies.

A notice of variation and extension of the existing offer is expected to be mailed to security holders of Canadian Hydro by the end of this week with an initial expiry date of October 20, 2009.

TransAlta proposes an all-cash offer to acquire Canadian Hydro Developers, Inc. for $4.55 per share

- Fully financed, all-cash offer represents 30 per cent premium to Canadian Hydro Developers shareholders - Combination accelerates TransAlta's planned growth of its renewable energy portfolio - Conference call scheduled for today at 9:00 a.m. (Mountain Time)

TransAlta Corporation (TSX: TA)(NYSE: TAC) announced today that it intends to make an all-cash offer, through an acquisition entity, to acquire Calgary-based Canadian Hydro Developers (TSX: KHD) at a price of $4.55 per share.

TransAlta's offer represents a premium of approximately 30 per cent to the volume weighted average trading price of Canadian Hydro Developers common shares on the TSX for the past 10 trading days and approximately 25 per cent to the closing price of Canadian Hydro Developers common shares on the TSX on July 17, 2009. The proposed transaction has an enterprise value of approximately $1.5 billion.

Boralex closes the acquisition of its first hydroelectric power station in British Columbia

Boralex Inc. ("Boralex" or the "Corporation") has concluded the acquisition, previously announced in June 2008, of the Ocean Falls hydroelectric power station located in Northern British Columbia.

The power station has an installed capacity of 14.5 MW of which 2 MW are currently being generated and sold primarily to BC Hydro under a long-term energy sales contract. Given its hydroelectric potential, the installed capacity of this power station could potentially be increased to more than 35 MW over the course of the coming years. At the same time, Boralex also acquired the development rights for two other hydroelectric projects in the same region, representing an additional 10 MW.

Plutonic Power, GE Submit Bids for More Than $4 Billion in Hydroelectric Projects, Canada's Largest

Plutonic Power Corporation (TSX:PCC) joined with GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE (NYSE:GE), today in submitting two bids for hydroelectric power projects costing more than $4 billion, which would be Canada's largest single private sector hydroelectric generation investment. The submissions into BC Hydro's 2008 Clean Power Call outline the development of approximately 1,200 megawatts of clean, run-of-river hydroelectric capacity (enough to power 330,000 homes) in the Toba and Bute Inlets along British Columbia's southwest coast, where GE and Plutonic Power Corporation are already building a 196-megawatt hydroelectric project.