Mississauga: In a one-of-a-kind decision, the government of Ontario announced on July 10 that a deal had been reached to change the location of a power plant under construction. Greenfield South Power, a private developer, had a contract with the OPA to build a 280 MW gas-fired power plant in Mississauga. However, the governing Liberal party made a promise during the 2011 election campaign to cancel the power plant. The project will now be built on the site of Ontario Power Generation’s Lambton Generating Station. It appears that the project owners negotiated an agreement with the government behind closed doors that kept both parties out of the court room. According to official statements, the total cost to relocate is approximately $180 million.
According to a report in the Toronto Star, “Work on the Mississauga plant continued for weeks after the Oct. 6 election, even though the government made it clear the project would have to be located elsewhere.” Both opposition leaders said that they did not support the plant going forward in its original Mississauga location, although they criticized the process used by the government.
A government announcement noted that the Net Revenue Requirement (the monthly payment used to cover costs to build the plant and the cost to operate the plant) is $12,400 MW/month. It went on to say that “This is lower than the original Greenfield South NRR of $12,900 MW/month as per the November 2009 contract.”