Atikokan finally clears the air
The provincial government and Ontario
Power Generation announced Sept. 10 that the former coal-burning
Atikokan Generating Station is now producing electricity using wood
pellet fuel. The province spent $170 million to refurbish the plant,
located west of Thunder Bay, which burned its last bit of coal in
September, 2012.
The provincial government
and Ontario Power Generation announced Sept. 10 that the former
coal-burning Atikokan Generating Station is now producing electricity
using wood pellet fuel. The province spent $170 million to refurbish the
plant, located west of Thunder Bay, which burned its last bit of coal
in September, 2012.
Plant tours were given to delegates attending the CanBio conference in Thunder Bay.
The construction involved building two massive silos to store pellets
along with major boiler modifications. More than 200 contractors were
employed on the two-year project.
Resolute Forest Products and California-based Rentech were awarded
the contracts to each supply the power plant with 45,000 tonnes of
pellets annually.
The plant was originally slated for closure a decade ago by the
then-McGuinty government as part of its off-coal green agenda. Furious
regional lobbying saved the facility which now employs 70.
Energy minister Bob Chiarelli called the plant’s reopening a “new
era” that puts Ontario “on the world map as a leader” in using a
sustainable fuel era for power production.
