Nanticoke Solar Facility Explained

Nanticoke Solar Facility
Country:Canada
Location:Nanticoke, Ontario
Coordinates:42.8°N -80.0503°W
Status:O
Owner:Nanticoke Solar LP
Solar Type:PV
Ps Site Area:158ha
Ps Units Operational:192,431
Ps Electrical Capacity:44

The Nanticoke Solar Facility is a 44 MW solar power station in Nanticoke, Ontario, Canada.[1] It is located on the site of the defunct Nanticoke Generating Station, which operated from 1972 to 2013 and was the largest coal-fired power plant in North America.

The facility is owned and operated by Nanticoke Solar LP, a joint venture of Ontario Power Generation (80%), the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation (15%), and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (5%).[2] [3]

History

See main article: Nanticoke Generating Station. The Nanticoke Solar Facility and its predecessor, the Nanticoke Generating Station, is built on the site of the "Battle of Nanticoke" where the Norfolk volunteer militia routed a band of American marauders who had been pillaging area farms and terrorizing the country in 1813. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1924. Following the phase-out of coal power in the province, Ontario Power Generation announced in July 2015 that it would not be converting the facility to biomass or natural gas and that remaining equipment would be sold or repurposed elsewhere.[4] The two smokestacks were imploded using controlled demolition on February 28, 2018.[5]

OPG established Nanticoke Solar LP as a joint venture with First Nations to build and operate a new solar facility on the site.[6] [7] The Nanticoke Solar Facility is Ontario Power Generation's first solar facility. Contracts were let in 2016 and construction began in 2018.[8] The 192,000-panel solar farm was completed in March 2019 but demolition of the old Nanticoke GS structures continued even after construction was completed.[9] [10] The last sections of the former Nanticoke GS were demolished on August 22, 2019.[11]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Ruiz Leotaud. Valentina. Former coal-fired power plant in Ontario becomes solar facility . MINING.com . April 3, 2019 . en . April 1, 2019.
  2. Web site: 2020 Annual Report . Ontario Power Generation . August 13, 2021 . 185.
  3. Web site: Nanticoke Solar LP . Six Nations Future . September 5, 2021.
  4. News: Sonnenberg . Monte . OPG rejects natural gas, biomass option for Nanticoke Generating Station . September 5, 2021 . Simcoe Reformer . July 15, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150723101055/http://www.simcoereformer.ca/2015/07/15/opg-rejects-natural-gas-biomass-option-for-nanticoke-generating-station . July 23, 2015.
  5. News: Watch as OPG demolishes 2 huge smokestacks at the Nanticoke generating station. Craggs. Samantha . CBC Hamiltion. 28 February 2018. 1 March 2018.
  6. News: Tencer . Daniel . Ontario's Nanticoke, North America's Former Largest Coal Plant, To Reopen As Solar Farm . September 5, 2021 . HuffPost Canada . March 14, 2016 . en.
  7. News: Marion . Michael-Allan . Six Nations thrilled with solar project approval . September 5, 2021 . Brantford Expositor . March 11, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160313104806/https://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2016/03/11/six-nations-thrilled-with-solar-project-approval . March 13, 2016.
  8. News: Nanticoke Solar project closer to reality . September 5, 2021 . The Hamilton Spectator . March 11, 2016 . en.
  9. Web site: Ivan . Shumkov. Ontario utility completes 44-MW solar park on Lake Erie shores . Renewables Now . April 3, 2019. September 5, 2021. en.
  10. News: Sonnenberg . Monte . Solar takes over at Nanticoke Generating Station . September 12, 2021 . Norfolk & Tillsonburg News . April 1, 2019 . en-CA.
  11. Web site: Nanticoke powerhouse safely demolished. August 22, 2019. September 5, 2019. Media Releases. Ontario Power Generation.