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Ontario
Energy Minister Hon. George Smitherman today announced that OPG will close
two of eight units at its Nanticoke station near Simcoe and two of four
units at its Lambton plant near Sarnia by October 2010. Together these
plants represent about 2,000 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity.
With the shutdown of Lakeview Generating Station in 2005, Ontario’s
in-service coal capacity will be reduced by 40 per cent since 2003. The announcement supports the government's continued aim of being one of the first jurisdictions in the world
to eliminate coal-fired electricity generation. Since 2003, over 7,000
MW of new and refurbished generation have come online to ensure
reliability, including over 3,700 MW of new natural gas fired plants
and over 1,200 MW of renewable energy. The Ministry's news release noted that the closures will "advance the province’s
vision for the Green Energy Act 2009 furthering the investment climate
which will make it easier to bring renewable energy to life." This presumably comes as a result of reduced reserve margins and higher prices, both of which will tend to improve prospects for new investment.
OPG
will continue to assess converting its remaining 11 units to other
types of fuel such as biomass, a renewable fuel source that could not
only provide Ontario with renewable energy, but could provide an
alternate use for existing coal plants, as coal is phased out in the
years ahead. Atikokan Generating Station will be OPG’s initial focus
for transition to biomass by the target year of 2012. For more information: http://www.mei.gov.on.ca/english/energy/gea/ |
