Ontario government endorsing $600M refurbishment plan for Cornwall power generating station
The Ontario government is providing a major boost to the refurbishment of the hydroelectric station in Cornwall.
The government says it will be supporting Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) plan to refurbish the R. H. Saunders Generating Station on the St. Lawrence River. The $600 million project would improve 16 units at the station, allowing it to produce more electricity from less water.
"Today, the station continues to safely produce up to five per cent of Ontario's electricity needs, helping us to power our homes, charge our EVs, grow our businesses, and fuel our economy, said OPG director of plant operations Scott Gagnon at a news conference on Friday. "And thanks to this refurbishment, we will continue to do this for decades to come."
The project, which OPG says began in January 2023, is expected to be completed by 2039.
"Our government's keeping our energy grid reliable. We're keeping the grid affordable. And it's one of the cleanest grids in the entire world. And we're very, very proud of that," said Energy Minister Todd Smith. "Once completely refurbished, the station will produce 1045MW. That's over a gigawatt of safe, reliable and clean electricity. In other words, that's enough to power a million homes in our province."
The R.H. Saunders Generating Station, built in 1958, is the second-largest hydro facility in the province. It is part of the larger Moses-Saunders Power Dam shared with the United States. It was last overhauled in the late 1990s and early 2000s, OPG says.
The refurbishment will include major rehabilitation of generating equipment through civil, electrical, and mechanical improvement, the government says. Once completed, the station is expected to produce up to 160 gigawatt hours of additional clean electricity each year, equivalent to powering more than 19,000 homes.
The refurbishment of the R.H. Saunders Generating Station in Cornwall, Ont. aims to improve 16 units at the station, allowing it to produce more electricity from less water. (Jack Richardson/CTV News Ottawa)
"For us personally here in Cornwall, it's more than just an employer. It's part of our community," said mayor Justin Towndale. "I myself grew up just around the corner from the dam and that's not an exaggeration. My parents still live in that house and I can tell you that we have a partnership with OPG where we're able to use parts of this property for recreational purposes, and that provides a value that's added to our community, to our residents."
The R.H. Saunders Generating Station has been a source of clean power for Ontario for 65 years, and currently meets about five per cent of the province's power needs.
The R.H. Saunders Generating Station is the second-largest hydro facility in Ontario. (OPG/submitted)
--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Jack Richardson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From essential goods to common stocking stuffers, Trudeau offering Canadians temporary tax relief
Canadians will soon receive a temporary tax break on several items, along with a one-time $250 rebate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
She thought her children just had a cough or fever. A mother shares sons' experience with walking pneumonia
A mother shares with CTVNews.ca her family's health scare as medical experts say cases of the disease and other respiratory illnesses have surged, filling up emergency departments nationwide.
Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration.
A one-of-a-kind Royal Canadian Mint coin sells for more than $1.5M
A rare one-of-a-kind pure gold coin from the Royal Canadian Mint has sold for more than $1.5 million. The 99.99 per cent pure gold coin, named 'The Dance Screen (The Scream Too),' weighs a whopping 10 kilograms and surpassed the previous record for a coin offered at an auction in Canada.
Putin says Russia attacked Ukraine with a new missile that he claims the West can't stop
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday that Moscow has tested a new intermediate-range missile in a strike on Ukraine, and he warned that it could use the weapon against countries that have allowed Kyiv to use their missiles to strike Russia.
Here's a list of items that will be GST/HST-free over the holidays
Canadians won't have to pay GST on a selection of items this holiday season, the prime minister vowed on Thursday.
Video shows octopus 'hanging on for dear life' during bomb cyclone off B.C. coast
Humans weren’t the only ones who struggled through the bomb cyclone that formed off the B.C. coast this week, bringing intense winds and choppy seas.
Taylor Swift's motorcade spotted along Toronto's Gardiner Expressway
Taylor Swift is officially back in Toronto for round two. The popstar princess's motorcade was seen driving along the Gardiner Expressway on Thursday afternoon, making its way to the downtown core ahead of night four of ‘The Eras Tour’ at the Rogers Centre.
Service Canada holding back 85K passports amid Canada Post mail strike
Approximately 85,000 new passports are being held back by Service Canada, which stopped mailing them out a week before the nationwide Canada Post strike.