OPG to study additional hydroelectricity development options in North
With demand for electricity forecasted to grow at an average of 20 percent per year in the 2030s, the Ontario government has asked Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to examine opportunities for new hydroelectric development in northern Ontario.
The province’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) suggested in its most recent Annual Planning Outlook document that the province’s shift to decarbonization—particularly in the transportation sector—is contributing to a huge increase in demand for electricity in the next decade. Further complicating matters is the closure of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station at Pickering and the refurbishment of the Darlington and Bruce nuclear facilities.
To keep up with that demand, the province wants to consider new hydroelectric generating stations in parts of the north. These, it says, could address Ontario’s growing long-term electricity needs, while creating significant economic benefits for local and Indigenous communities.
“Our government is working to deliver a clean, reliable and affordable electricity system now and into the future,” said Energy Minister Todd Smith. “Beginning with Niagara Falls, hydroelectric generation has played a critical role meeting Ontario’s electricity needs for over a century and we are excited to explore new opportunities to meet future needs and build on Ontario’s achievement of one of the cleanest electricity grids in the world.”
Through the review, OPG, working with the Ontario Waterpower Association, will update previous evaluations of hydroelectric potential in northern Ontario with new estimates on water availability, annual energy production potential, and life-cycle costs of building and operating new hydroelectric generation while engaging with Northern and Indigenous communities.
OPG will share the findings of this work with the Ministry of Energy as well as the IESO so that it can be considered as part of the IESO’s work towards developing an achievable pathway to zero emissions in the electricity sector.
“To power the Ontario of the future, we must explore new sources of hydroelectric power,” said Greg Rickford, Minister of Mines, Northern Development, Natural Resources and Forestry. “Hydro is one of the cleanest and most reliable energy sources in the world. Further hydro development could spur job creation in Indigenous and remote communities, power industries and communities, and will ensure a cleaner future for our province.”
The province has also asked OPG to specifically engage with Indigenous communities and organizations to understand how Indigenous communities could participate in and benefit from future hydroelectric generation projects.
Currently, more than a dozen of the province’s waterpower generating stations involve Indigenous ownership. OPG has partnerships with three First Nations on six OPG Generating Stations, including the Lac Seul Generating Station, Lower Mattagami Redevelopment Project and Peter Sutherland Sr. GS.
Hydroelectricity accounted for about 24 percent of the electricity generated in Ontario in 2020. On average, it is the lowest-cost electricity to produce in Ontario.
The move to hydroelectricity is part of the province’s ongoing commitment to green its energy grid. Last October, Smith asked the IESO to evaluate a moratorium on the procurement of new natural gas generation stations in Ontario, and in December, Ontario and OPG announced a partner to deploy Canada’s first grid-scale Small Modular Reactor at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station.
Featured image: OPG’s Manitou Generating Station sluice gates project (Ontario Power Generation Inc.)