Smoky Falls/Kâpâškilehtehk GS Receives LEED Gold Certification

November 4, 2016

Smoky Falls Generating Station (GS), built in partnership by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Moose Cree First Nation, has earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification from the Canada Green Building Council.

The generating station is OPG’s third LEED gold certified facility, joining the St. Lawrence Power Development Visitor Centre in Cornwall, and the Darlington Energy Complex in Clarington.

Smoky Falls GS is located about 250 km north of Timmins and is also known by its Cree name, Kâpâškilehtehk. To earn LEED Gold, the partnership incorporated efficiency and environmental sustainability into the facility’s design and construction. This included selecting a sustainable site, recycling construction material, and using ground source heat pumps, which reduces emissions.

Smoky Falls GS was part of the $2.6 billion Lower Mattagami hydroelectric project, which also added new generating units at Harmon, Little Long and Kipling generating stations, giving Ontario 438 megawatts more of clean, renewable power.

“Our people, and especially those Moose Cree workers who helped build the station, can take pride in the LEED certification,” says Moose Cree First Nation Chief Patricia Faries. “The station will produce clean energy for generations to come, and will benefit both Ontario and our community.”

“Earning LEED Gold is a testament to OPG’s commitment to the environment and sustainable construction,” says Mike Martelli, OPG’s President Renewable Generation and Power Marketing. “We worked closely with the Moose Cree First Nation at all stages of this $2.6 billion Lower Mattagami Project and together we safely completed the project on schedule and on budget.”

LEED is a third-party certification program and an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. The LEED program provides building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their building’s performance. LEED promotes a whole building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

OPG provides about half of the electricity used in Ontario, and more than 99% of the power it produces has no smog or greenhouse gas emissions.