Heather Wright/The Independent

There is a plan to generate power again at the former Lambton Generation Station site in Courtright

Altura Power, a subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation, wants to build a 500 megawatt natural gas power plant on the site.

Chris Penny, senior manager of business development for Altura Power, told St. Clair Township councillors Monday the plan is in the early stages. The company hopes to submit a bid to generate power to the Independent Electricity System Operator in mid-December.

“We really see this as a good, strong opportunity to support the re-powering of the site,” said Penny. 

The province is expecting the demand for power to rise about 75 per cent by 2050 and the provincial government is pushing to meet those demands. Recently, the Minister of Energy, Steven Lecce, came to Sarnia to talk about the possibility of placing small nuclear reactors at the Courtright site. But that’s just one component of the power that could be generated there according to Altura.

Penny says the proposed project, dubbed the Riverside Generating Station, would take up a small portion of the now cleared site. OPG owns about 1,200 acres of land along the St. Clair at Courtright; this project would take between 20-40 acres.

Councillors wanted to know how many jobs might be created by the development – Penny says there will be permanent employees on site but he’s not able to say how many yet.

And he says there is much to be done to get to that point. Penny says Altura plans extensive consultations with the regions First Nations and the St. Clair Township community. An open house is planned for June 17 at the St. Clair Golf Course to share more details about the project.

Altura needs to have a letter of support from St. Clair Township for the project to move forward. At least one councillor, Brad Langstaff, was ready to give that approval on the spot noting it would generate tax revenue for the municipality. OPG’s tax bill at Courtright dropped by $2 million once the Lambton Generating Station closed.

Council is slated to talk about the prospect of the power plant at a meeting next month.

If Altura receives approval from the township and eventually the IESO, Penny says construction would begin in the summer of 2027 at the earliest.