Heather Wright/The Independent

One of two natural gas power plant projects in St. Clair Township has been given the municipal seal of approval.

Councillors passed a motion of support for the proposed plant on the grounds of the former Lambton Generating Station in Courtright Monday. Ontario Power Generation subsidiary Atura, which is hoping to build the 500 megawatt plant, needs that letter of approval to submit a bid to the province’s Independent Electricity Supply Operator to provide power.

The province is expecting the demand for power to rise about 75 per cent by 2050.

Atura officials say 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. It could also be part of an energy hub which includes natural gas powered electricity generation, nuclear generation and hydrogen.

While St. Clair officials have been enthusiastic about the possibility of more power projects in the community, environmental groups have been trying to dissuade people from supporting natural gas plants. The Ontario Clean Air Coalition says much of Ontario’s natural gas comes from the US and right now, it’s not a good idea to become reliant on a hostile US government for energy.

But Mayor Jeff Agar, reading from a prepared statement Monday, refuted the coalition’s concerns.
“The proposed Riverside generating station will source natural gas from a diverse and secure North American supply network, including both US shale and Canadian production from Alberta and British Columbia,” he said. “Natural gas is expected to be drawn from the Dawn Hub locally (in nearby Dawn-Euphemia.)

“By leveraging this strategic infrastructure Riverside GS will ensure reliable and flexible fuel supply to support Ontario’s electricity system,” the mayor read.

And he added his thanks to the power company for considering St. Clair for the project which could cost more than $2 billion to build.

Atura will submit a proposal to the IESO by December. If it is approved, officials say construction could begin in 2027.