OPG Completes Nanticoke Conversion to Solar

Apr 25, 2019

Ontario Power Generation (OPG), in partnership with the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, has completed its first-ever 44-megawatt solar facility at the former Nanticoke Generating Station site.

In 2016, Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator awarded a contract to OPG and its partners to build Nanticoke Solar. OPG has a  history of working in partnership with First Nations. This is the fourth First Nation partnership. PCL Construction was awarded the construction contract for the Nanticoke Solar Project on March 13, 2018. It was also awarded the supply contract for the project’s photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and racking system.

Located near Port Dover on the shores of Lake Erie, the former Nanticoke Generating Station was first brought into service in 1972 and had a peak capacity of approximately 4,000 megawatts of power. The station burned its last piece of coal on December 31, 2013. The following year, Ontario became the first jurisdiction in North America to eliminate coal as a source of electricity production. Demolition of the Station’s powerhouse is scheduled for September 2019 and will be followed by site restoration in 2020.

“Building and sustaining a clean, low cost electricity system is fundamental to a healthy environment and a strong, low-carbon economy,” says OPG’s Mike Martelli, President of Renewable Generation. “Nanticoke Solar is a continuation of OPG’s rich legacy of generating electricity in this community.”