The company's investment in Ontario's clean energy future will support economic growth, Indigenous reconciliation, local food supply, transportation and address forecasted energy demand in the southwest
CHATHAM, ON, Nov. 6, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, Hydro One released the Draft Environmental Study Report for the St. Clair Transmission Line project for public review and comment. The report details engagement during the Class Environmental Assessment (EA), the route selection process, identifies potential effects to the natural and socio-economic environments and measures Hydro One will use to avoid, minimize or restore any negative effects of the project. For close to two years, Hydro One has been working closely with Indigenous communities, residents, directly impacted property owners, and businesses and encourages interested parties to submit feedback on the draft ESR report from now until December 7, 2023.
"Local community participation is integral to infrastructure development, and we will integrate feedback directly into the design, development, construction, operations and maintenance of this project as Hydro One continues to invest in Southwest Ontario, to ensure energy is available when and where it is needed," said Sonny Karunakaran, Vice President, Strategic Projects and Partnerships, Hydro One. "We will continue to work closely with Indigenous communities who have been providing meaningful early inputs, residents, directly impacted property owners and businesses at every stage of this critical project to ensure local needs are reflected in planning for the new transmission line."
The draft report relies on information collected from an extensive field study program with more than 85 sites visited and with almost two years of work, study and community engagement. Overall, the report concludes that that potential effects can be effectively managed using industry standard environmental mitigation measures.
The benefits this transmission line will bring to the region, include:
- a 50/50 equity partnership in the line component of the project for five local First Nations,
- an additional 450 megawatts of clean electricity1, bringing approximately enough energy to power a city the size of London, Ontario,
- increased reliability and resiliency of energy supply, and
- increased economic growth in the Windsor-Essex and Chatham area in sectors like agriculture and electric vehicle technology.
During the public comment period, Hydro One will publish the report online, and make electronic and hard copies available at the following locations:
- Corunna Library, 417 Lyndoch Street, Corunna
- Chatham-Kent Public Library, 120 Queen Street, Chatham
- Wallaceburg Municipal Office, 786 Dufferin Avenue, Wallaceburg
The St. Clair Transmission Line is a proposed new double-circuit 230 kilovolt transmission line between the Lambton Transformer Station (TS) in St. Clair Township and the Chatham Switching Station (SS) in the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. Through the selection of Route 2 as the preferred route, Hydro One found this option had the least effect on the values of importance to Indigenous communities as well as to the natural environment, agricultural lands and operations. As part of the Class EA, the expansion of Lambton TS and Chatham SS is also proposed, as well as an upgrade to the Wallaceburg Transformer Station which will increase the transmission reliability and resiliency for the Wallaceburg area.
The St. Clair Transmission Line project is part of a network of infrastructure projects across southwest Ontario that will unlock the electrification potential of Ontario's economy and help address forecasted energy demand in the region.
To read the draft report and share comments, visit St. Clair Transmission Line Project | Hydro One.
"Powering the homes in our community and continuing to grow our local economy counts on a reliable and resilient electricity network," said Trevor Jones, MPP, Chatham-Kent-Leamington. "Ontario's competitive advantage in the future will be a result of the investments being made across the southwest in the agricultural and electric vehicle sectors. St. Clair Transmission Line will provide and enhance clean energy to further benefit this advantage for generations to come."
"Our community is growing, and having the energy infrastructure to support that growth is a key factor. Ensuring access to clean and reliable electricity is important to enabling growth, not only in Chatham-Kent, but across the entirety of southwestern Ontario," said Darrin Canniff, Mayor, Municipality of Chatham-Kent. "As our energy demands increase, we're looking forward to realizing the economic benefits that this line and the new network will bring to Chatham-Kent once they are built."
"This critical transmission line will enable economic growth and jobs in our region as well as promote local food supply and security local food supply and security, economic development and job creation in our region," said Jeff Agar, Mayor, St. Clair Township. "We're working together with Hydro One to ensure this critical project is built in a sustainable way to ensure the St. Clair community has reliable power for years to come."
"We continue to work closely with Hydro One and our members, offering feedback on this critical transmission project to our sector and our region," said Louis Roesch, Zone Director, representing all farmers in Essex and Kent counties, Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA). "This new transmission line will help our local food supply and bring more food security for our community, and we want to ensure it benefits generations of farmers for years to come."
Hydro One Limited, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, is Ontario's largest electricity transmission and distribution provider with approximately 1.5 million valued customers, approximately $31.5 billion in assets as at December 31, 2022, and annual revenues in 2022 of approximately $7.8 billion.
Our team of approximately 9,300 skilled and dedicated employees proudly build and maintain a safe and reliable electricity system which is essential to supporting strong and successful communities. In 2022, Hydro One invested approximately $2.1 billion in its transmission and distribution networks, and supported the economy through buying approximately $1.9 billion of goods and services.
We are committed to the communities where we live and work through community investment, sustainability and diversity initiatives. We are designated as a Sustainable Electricity Leader™ by Electricity Canada.
Hydro One Limited's common shares are listed on the TSX and certain of Hydro One Inc.'s medium term notes are listed on the NYSE. Additional information can be accessed at www.hydroone.com, www.sedarplus.com or www.sec.gov.
This press release and the application and investment plan to which it refers may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Words such as "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "attempt", "may", "plan", "will", "can", "believe", "seek", "estimate", and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking information. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or actions and involve assumptions and risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking information. Some of the factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from the results expressed, implied or forecasted by such forward-looking information, including some of the assumptions used in making such statements, are discussed more fully in Hydro One's filings with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, which are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com. Hydro One does not intend, and it disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking information, except as required by law.
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SOURCE Hydro One Inc.
