Ontario Power Generation
Thermal Power
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MEGAWATTS of Thermal Energy |
Ontario Power Generation (OPG) operates five Thermal electricity generating stations with a combined capacity of 5,447 megawatts (MW). Four of these stations are currently fuelled by coal. The fifth, Lennox Generating Station (GS), is dual-fuelled by oil and natural gas. Thermal stations are an important part of OPG’s fleet, as they are able to start and stop quickly, when needed, to meet peaks in demand and to satisfy electricity needs that cannot be met by Ontario’s nuclear, hydroelectric and growing portfolio of wind and solar energy systems.
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Atikokan Station |
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Nanticoke Station |
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Lambton Station |
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Thunder Bay Station |
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Lennox Station |
Environmental Responsibility
OPG is making the transition to a lower carbon future and will shut down coal generation to produce electricity by the end of 2013. Two coal-fuelled generating units at Lambton GS and four at Nanticoke GS have been retired.
Ontario announced that the Lambton and Nanticoke coal plants will stop burning coal by the end of 2013. OPG will develop a plan to meet this schedule. The Independent Electricity System Operator agrees that these units are no longer needed to ensure a reliable supply of electricity to the Province of Ontario for the foreseeable future.
Looking ahead, Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan, which was announced by the Minister of Energy in November 2010, affirmed the Province’s commitment to convert Atikokan GS to biomass fuel and proposed that Thunder Bay GS be converted to natural gas fuel. The Atikokan conversion began in 2012 and will be completed in 2014. The Plan also recognizes that natural gas could be a future fuelling option for some units at Nanticoke GS and Lambton GS, if needed for system reliability. Co-firing of natural gas and biomass may be considered in future for OPG stations which are first converted to natural gas.