Toronto: Northern Ontario’s largest hydroelectric project in 50 years is now fully in service, Ontario Power Generation announced January 19. Undertaken in partnership with the Moose Cree First Nation, six new units on the Lower Mattagami River will add 438 MW of power to the grid.
“I’ve visited the Lower Mattagami site and have a great appreciation of the size and scope of this project as well as the people who have brought the project in on time and on budget,” said Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Energy. “The Lower Mattagami Project will deliver long-term results for our electricity system while providing clean, reliable and affordable electricity for Ontarians.”
“The project has helped rejuvenate the Moose Cree community and given our economy a much-needed boost,” said Moose Cree First Nation Chief Norm Hardisty Jr. “Many of our members will be able to use the training and new skills they developed to work on other infrastructure projects.”
“This one-of-a-kind success story illustrates the power of partnership, a shared vision and solid project management,” said OPG President and CEO Tom Mitchell. “I’m very proud of the many workers, contractors, our Moose Cree partners and OPG employees for their incredible efforts. Successfully completing a project of this magnitude happens because good, skilled people dedicate themselves to getting the job done right.”
The $2.6 billion Lower Mattagami Project involved redeveloping four of OPG’s existing hydro stations on the Mattagami River.
The stations are located about 70km north of Kapuskasing. The Smoky Falls station went into service in 1931, Little Long in 1963, Harmon in 1965, and Kipling in 1966. Smoky Falls was replaced with a new 3-unit station built alongside the old station. A third unit was added to each of the other plants.
As part of the of the Amisk-oo-Skow agreement, the Moose Cree First Nation will own a 25 per cent equity stake in the project.
Moose Cree businesses have also been awarded over $300 million worth of sub-contracts since the project began four years ago and, at peak construction, 1,800 people worked on the project, including over 250 First Nation and Métis workers.
The four generating stations on the Mattagami River, from south to north are: Little Long, Smoky Falls, Harmon, and Kipling. The stations are located about 70 kilometres northeast of Kapuskasing and about 150 kilometres upstream of Moose Factory and the Town of Moosonee. The oldest station, Smoky Falls, had a capacity of 52 MW. This station was older and smaller than the other three. The new more efficient Smoky Falls Generating Station has a capacity of 267 megawatts and is better able to use the same water to produce more electricity. New generating units were also added at Little Long, Harmon and Kipling.