Ontario Power Generation announced July 18 that it is proceeding with construction of the $170-million Atikokan Generating Station biomass conversion project.
The converted Atikokan station will provide renewable electricity generation from a sustainable fuel recognized as beneficial to climate change mitigation. With over 200 MW of capacity, Atikokan GS will be one of the largest biomass plants in North America and will generate renewable, dispatchable, peak capacity power. The project will create about 200 construction jobs and help to protect existing jobs at the plant, OPG says.
The project includes plant modifications to provide peak capacity and the construction of a fuel storage and handling system that can process up to 90,000 tonnes of biomass fuel annually. AeCON has been selected for design and construction of the fuel handling and storage systems and Doosan for the combustion modifications. Construction activities will ramp up over the summer. The project is expected to be completed in 2014.
Biomass will be the only fuel used at Atikokan in the future. All of OPG’s thermal plants will cease using coal by the end of 2014.
The conversion is the first of its kind in the province, the Ministry of Energy points out. The project will create new economic opportunities for Ontario's forestry sector, which will provide the biomass fuel to the plant. As a result of the conversion, increased demand for biomass pellets is expected to create or support about 200 jobs. The converted plant will be able to deliver more than 200 MW of relatively clean, renewable power, and will take the province a step closer to eliminating coal-fired electricity generation by the end of 2014.
Under the terms of the agreement to convert the station, the biomass must be sourced from Ontario's forests and processed in Ontario. The procurement will provide a new market for waste fibre and act as a catalyst for a larger biomass industry in Ontario. Wood pellets will be made primarily from unused and underutilized species, non-marketable wood, forest residue and sawmill residue.
The conversion of the plant will begin later this year and is expected to be complete in 2014. Over its life, biomass from wood pellets emits about 90 per cent less greenhouse gases and less smog-causing pollutants than coal.