Ontario Power Generation

Targeting sustainable development
Ontario Power Generation is committed to becoming a sustainable energy development company. We are working towards this goal through continual improvement in:

Ecosystem protection and pollution prevention
Energy and resource use efficiency
Taking environmental and social factors into account when making decisions
Helping our employees target sustainable development
Community relations
Always working safely, and in an open and responsible manner

Clean air
In 2005, over 70 percent of OPG's electricity was produced by hydroelectric and nuclear stations that released almost nothing to the air that could make acid rain, global warming or smog. Five generating stations powered by fossil fuels made the rest of OPG's power. Coal is OPG's main fossil fuel for these stations; one uses oil and natural gas to make its electricity.

Cutting down emissions
The major air emissions made by burning coal include nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). NOx and SO2 are known together as acid gas and they can make acid rain. These gases are also known to be a big part of ground-level ozone and smog. CO2 is a greenhouse gas linked to climate change. OPG continues to make significant progress in reducing air emissions from its fossil-fuelled plants through the use of “scrubber” technology, systems that intercept gases and particulates before they are released to the atmosphere. For example, from 1999 to 2004 OPG decreased its total NOx emissions by 49% and its NOx emission rate by 31%. OPG's coal plants are being phased out over the next few years which will drastically reduce our air emissions.

Crystal-clear water
Water is a large-scale, largely emissions-free, renewable source of hydroelectric power and OPG's lowest-cost source of electricity. Water also helps make power at our nuclear and fossil-fuelled generating stations by cooling the system. Recognizing that water is important to all life, OPG applies high standards in taking care of its water resources.

OPG has worked with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and local stakeholders to develop water management plans for provincially regulated river systems. The process has provided guidelines that assist OPG in balancing each region's unique social, cultural and recreational interests with OPG's business mandate to generate safe, reliable and economically competitive electricity.

Water use in hydroelectric generation
In 2004, OPG generated 35,800 gigawatt-hours of renewable hydroelectric power, an increase of ten per cent relative to 2003. The improvement was due in part to a relatively wet summer season in 2004, which gave us more water to work with. OPG always takes into account ecological priorities in making electricity. For example, we protect fish spawning habitats from disruptions in water levels by adjusting when and how much water we release from dams. We also sometimes hold water back to protect against springtime flooding that could damage shoreline ecosystems and contribute to erosion.

Increasing the efficiency of water
OPG is looking to make hydroelectric power even more efficiently, and to make more of it. Over the period 2003 to 2007, OPG will spend around $300 million on improving our hydroelectric facility. Plus we've started building a new tunnel to the Sir Adam Beck complex to increase the water supplies to make more power.

An OPG Environment Project

Cooling with water
Almost 100 per cent of the water used by OPG's fossil and nuclear stations is used for cooling purposes. The water is used once and then is returned to its source slightly warmer.

Biodiversity: our aim
Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on earth, including ecosystems, plant and animal species in those ecosystems. OPG's Biodiversity Policy tries not to harm any species, directly or by damaging the area they live in. Our biodiversity program has won many awards and we regularly check to make sure we are taking care of the plants and animals on our land. We like to work with external conservation agencies and local municipalities to see if we can improve the environment on a larger scale. OPG also has the Carbon Sequestration and Biodiversity Management Program. This is a tree-planting program that aims to capture carbon, a part of a greenhouse gas, to offset the emissions from our fossil stations. From 2000 to 2004, OPG and its conservation partners have planted over 1.86 million native trees and shrubs on more than 900 hectares of land.

Each year, OPG sets key targets for improving environmental performance relative to the previous year.

ISO 14001 Environmental Management System
OPG was among the first North American utilities to earn ISO 14001 certification of its Environmental Management System (EMS) throughout its major facilities and plant groups.

The ISO 14001 EMS system helps OPG to make certain that its environmental policies are managed, implemented, checked and reviewed within an overall context of continuous improvement. Within operations, the EMS is instrumental in assisting the business units to manage their environmental impacts.

In 2002, OPG passed its ISO 14001 recertification audits at all major stations.