(UPDATED April 23, 2014, with VIDEO) February 4, 2013 – Work on the conversion of Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) Atikokan Generating Station (GS) to use biomass is underway.

In the VIDEO, Thunder Bay TV tours Atikokan Generating Station, and speaks with OPG’s Chris Fralick and Atikokan Mayor Dennis Brown. (Watch from 0:00 to 3:18)

“This is an exciting and important initiative,” said Tom Mitchell, OPG president and CEO. “We are committed to safely completing this project on time and on budget. To help us meet this goal, there has been a tremendous amount of upfront planning.”

Mitchell noted Atikokan as only one of many major generation projects OPG is undertaking to expand and modernize its thermal, hydro and nuclear capability. “These activities are giving OPG significant project management experience which promises major benefits for Ontario – in the form of innovative partnerships, economic growth and job creation,” he said.

The Atikokan conversion project includes plant modifications and the construction of a fuel-storage and handling system to repower the plant from coal to biomass fuel. Biomass will be the only fuel used at Atikokan in the future. All of OPG’s thermal plants will cease using coal by the end of 2014, it stressed.

The converted Atikokan station will have an installed capacity of more than 200MW of renewable electricity. The conversion project is slated to be completed in 2014 and aims to be the largest capacity 100% biomass fuelled power plant in North America.