Northwestern Ontario's two coal-burning energy plants are not expected to see any major changes under stricter standards for emissions that cause smog and acid rain. New guidelines for Ontario's six coal-fired plants dictate that smog-causing nitrogen oxides are to be reduced by 53 per cent, while acid rain-causing sulphur emissions will be cut by 25 per cent by 2007. Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 330-megawatt plant in Thunder Bay and 230-megawatt station in Atikokan are considered relatively new plants that burn low sulphur-emission coal. But an OPG spokesperson says emission regulations target utilities as a whole and not individual stations, and therefore it is still not known whether the two northwestern Ontario plants will meet the new guidelines.
OPG plans to spend $250 million to cut emissions from its two biggest coal burners: the 4,000-megawatt Nanticoke station on Lake Erie and the 2,000-megawatt Lambton plant near Sarnia, Ont.
There are no plans to upgrade the Thunder Bay and Atikokan plants, which are seen to burn efficiently.