A $170 million conversion from coal to biomass is now underway at the Ontario Power Generation Atikokan Generating Station, which the provincial government says will create 200 construction jobs. The province plans to phase out the use of coal to generate electricity by 2014.
The provincial government recently announced that a conversion from coal to biomass is ‘now underway’ at Ontario Power Generation's Atikokan Generating Station.
A press release from the Ministry of Energy stated the plant burned its last piece of coal on Sept. 11 and the conversion will create 200 construction jobs. According to the OPG website, the coal-fuelled electricity generating unit produces up to 211 Megawatts and the construction project to convert the plant to biomass will cost $170 million.
Atikokan is about 200 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, where OPG has another coal-fired generating station, which the province plans to convert to natural gas.
The province plans to phase out the use of coal to generate electricity by 2014.
The other two coal-fired power plants are Nanticoke, on the shore of Lake Erie about 60 kilometres southwest of Hamilton and Lambton, south of Sarnia.
Lambton is where the province plans to relocate a natural gas plant, to be operated by Greenfield South Power Corp., which was originally under construction in Mississauga. As of September, 2011 the foundations of the Mississauga power plant buildings, steam turbogenerator pedestal, gas turbogenerator pedestal and other structures were nearing completion. But Premier Dalton McGuinty announced during the election campaign the project would be cancelled.
Energy Minister Chris Bentley announced in July the settlement agreement with Greenfield and its financier, EIG, would cost $180 million.
In Atikokan, the biomass will be sourced from wood pellets, made primarily from unused and underutilized species, non-marketable wood, forest residue and sawmill residue, the province announced in July.
“The converted plant will be able to deliver more than 200 megawatts of clean, renewable power by the end of 2014.”
DCN DIGITAL MEDIA
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed