TIMMINS, ONT. — Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Coral Rapids Power, a company wholly owned by the Taykwa Tagamou Nation (TTN), have announced commissioning of the $300-million Peter Sutherland Sr. Generating Station north of Smooth Rock Falls in northern Ontario.
The new two-unit hydropower station is located on New Post Creek, 80 kilometres north of Smooth Rock Falls near the junction with the Abitibi River and will provide 28 megawatts of power to the provincial grid, enough to power 25,000 homes. The OPG media statement issued April 7 indicates the project was completed on budget and ahead of schedule. The greenfield development is located within the traditional territory of the TTN. The station is named after a TTN community elder.
OPG notes the project was executed with no lost-time incidents and employed about 220 workers at peak. The partnership resulted in more than $50 million in contracts for TTN businesses and about 50 TTN members worked on the project. Approximately 60 per cent of the total labour requirement for the onsite work was met by the northern Ontario labour market. Kiewit and Aecon were among the construction partners.
The project team installed two turbines, a steel penstock, a 340-metre-long open channel, a spillway dam and a seven-kilometre transmission line. The turbines use a portion of the water flowing down New Post Creek to generate electricity by moving water 250 metres through the penstock to the power house on the Abitibi River, notes the OPG statement. The remaining water will continue to flow over the falls to maintain a natural appearance.
"This project has gone well due to the relationship we’ve built on a foundation of respect and trust," said Coral Rapids president Wayne Ross. "There have been many benefits for our community including good-paying jobs, transferable skills and a long-term revenue stream."
"Completing the Peter Sutherland Sr. GS ahead of schedule and on budget is another example of OPG’s commitment to creating respectful partnerships and to ensuring project excellence," said Jeff Lyash, OPG president and CEO.
Noting the perfect safety record, Lyash said, "That’s an incredible achievement. My thanks go out to our contractor, Kiewit/Aecon and the many workers for their commitment to quality and safety."
The statement indicated OPG has also completed both the $2.6-billion Lower Mattagami hydroelectric project and the Niagara Pumped Storage refurbishment on time and on budget, and that OPG’s Darlington Nuclear Refurbishment project is also running on budget and on schedule.
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