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Atikokan Generating Station



Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) Atikokan Generating Station (GS) is located near the Town of Atikokan in northwestern Ontario. It has one coal-fuelled generating unit that produces up to 211 megawatts (MW) of electricity, using low-sulphur lignite coal from Western Canada.

In the past decade, annual electricity production has been as high as 1 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), enough to supply about 83,000 homes for a year. More recently, due to economic downturn and emission regulations, Atikokan GS’s role has changed to providing reliability during peak demand times and back up electricity generation when other sources are not available. The plant currently employs about 90 people from the Atikokan area. Their skills and experience are essential to safe and reliable operation.

Atikokan GS Biomass Conversion Project


Breaking ground on Oct. 11, 2012 (above photo, left to right): Chris Fralick, Plant Manager, Northwest Thermal (OPG); Tom Mitchell, OPG President and CEO; Bill Mauro MPP Thunder Bay-Atikokan; Dennis Brown, Mayor of Atikokan; and Brent Boyko, Atikokan Generating Station Manager.

OPG is proceeding with construction of the $170-million Atikokan GS biomass conversion project. The converted Atikokan station will provide renewable electricity generation from a sustainable fuel recognized as beneficial to climate change mitigation. Atikokan GS will be one of the largest biomass plants in North America and will generate renewable, dispatchable, peak capacity power.

The project will create about 200 construction jobs and help to protect existing jobs at the plant. The project includes plant modifications to provide peak capacity and the construction of a fuel storage and handling system that can handle up to 90,000 tonnes of biomass fuel annually. Construction activities will ramp up over the summer. The project is expected to be completed in 2014.