Information on Electrical Production in Ontario

Ontario is the second largest producer of electricity in Canada, after Quebec, and has an estimated generating capacity of 40,200 megawatts (MW). Currently Ontario's high-voltage grid, controlled by the Independent Electricity System Operator, has has the following breakdown of capacity:

Nuclear: 13,089 MW (34%)
Gas/Oil: 10,482 MW (28%)
Hydro: 8,868 MW (23%)
Wind: 4,883 MW (13%)
Biofuel: 296 MW (<1%)
Solar: 478 MW (1%)

Ontario's electricity generating capacity is mainly located in southern parts of the province, but there are large hydro generating stations located in eastern Ontario in the Ottawa River Basin and in northeastern Ontario in the Moose River Basin.

Ontario has three nuclear power plants with a combined 12,633 MW of installed capacity that provide the bulk of Ontario's baseload generation. Bruce Power on the east shore of Lake Huron is the largest, with eight generation units and a capacity of about 6,600 MW. It is one of the largest nuclear power plants currently operating in the world.

In 2015, the Ontario government approved refurbishing 10 nuclear generation units – six at the Bruce Power site and four at the Darlington site. This $26 billion 15-year program is one of the largest non-emitting energy projects in North America.

Ontario has over 200 hydroelectricity generation facilities with a total capacity of 9,160 MW.

Ontario has the highest amount of wind generated electricity in Canada which was built between 2005 and 2019.

Ontario had about 97 per cent of Canada's solar capacity in 2019, with 2,670 MW installed.

Ontario has the largest 100 per cent biomass-fueled plant in North America. The 205 MW Atikokan Generating Station was converted from coal in 2014.

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is the largest utility in Ontario's competitive electricity market, with over 18,600 MW of capacity.

Hydro One owns and operates almost all of Ontario's transmission capacity and has about 30,000 kilometres of transmission lines.

Hydro One is also the largest distributor of electricity in the province, serving nearly 1.4 million predominantly rural customers that represent approximately 26 per cent of the total customers in Ontario. There are over 60 distribution companies operating in Ontario.

Ontario has interconnections with Manitoba, Quebec, Michigan, Minnesota, and New York. Most of Ontario's imports come from Quebec while most of Ontario's exports go to New York and Michigan.

The Ontario Energy Board regulates the energy sector in Ontario, including electricity.

Ontario is now pursuing increases in energy storage in its grid. Energy storage allows for the withdrawal and reinjection of electricity on demand to better optimize the flow of electricity throughout the power system. Currently the Ontario electrical grid has pump storage and flywheel storage.

Pump storage involves using electricity during off-peak periods to pump water into a reservoir and slowly release it to run a turbine and generate electricity when it's needed. Compressed air works similarly, and old salt caverns in Goderich, Ontario are being used to store the compressed air. These caverns currently have a 10+ MWh of storage capacity and a peak power discharge of 1.75 MW.

Flywheels are large spinning tops that can store kinetic energy, which can be used to power a turbine and produce electricity. A flywheel facility in Minto, Ontario has the ability to provide 4 MW of flexibility to the grid, ±2 MW.

Note

1.Provincial and Territorial Energy Profiles – Ontario

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This article was published in

Volume 53 Number 4 - April 2023

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2023/Articles/M5300410.HTM

Website:  www.cpcml.ca   Email:  editor@cpcml.ca