OPG, Ontario First Nation Hdroelectric project comes online

Peter Sutherland Sr. Generating Station delivers 28 MW hydroelectric, renewable energy in Ontario via an Indigenous partnership, on-budget and ahead of schedule, supplying the provincial grid near the Abitibi River at New Post Creek.

Ontario Power Generation, which has also partnered on new nuclear technology with TVA, says a new hydroelectric plant in the northern part of the province is now online, and the First Nation it has partnered with stands to benefit.

In a written release issued Friday, OPG announced the completion of the Peter Sutherland Sr. Generating Station on New Post Creek. The project is a partnership between the provincial power company and Coral Rapids Power, an Indigenous-owned company of the Taykwa Tagamou Nation, near Cochrane.

"This project has gone well due to the relationship we've built on a foundation of respect and trust," Coral Rapids President Wayne Ross was quoted as saying in the OPG release.

"There have been many benefits for our community including good paying jobs, transferable skills and a long term revenue stream."

The generating station, which is located about 80 kilometres north of Smooth Rock Falls, near where New Post Creek meets the Abitibi River, is named after a respected elder of the Taykwa Tagamou Nation. It generates 28 megawatts of power for the provincial grid, according to OPG, complementing modernization at the Niagara Falls powerhouse upgrade as well.

The project was finished ahead of schedule and on-budget, OPG said, as other Ontario initiatives like a pumped storage project advance.

According to the announcement and recent financial results, the project cost around $300 million.

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