Little Jackfish River Project

Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG) is proposing to develop up to 73 megawatts of renewable hydroelectric power through the construction of one generating station on the Little Jackfish River (Proposed Undertaking).

The location of the Proposed Undertaking is the Little Jackfish River, which flows south from the Ogoki Reservoir into Lake Nipigon, about two hundred kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay. Refer to the Notices section of this website for a map of the project location.

Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG) has recently changed the scope for the Little Jackfish River Hydroelectric Project. The scope now includes the development of renewable hydroelectric power at only the one generating station at the Lower Site. The scope change also includes the automation of the existing Summit Control Dam located at the north end of the Little Jackfish River. The proposed generating station will consist of a dam, the construction of an approximately 200 kilometre long 230 kilovolt transmission line that will connect the Lower Site to the provincial grid east of The Town of Nipigon, and a 44 kilovolt transmission line that will connect the Lower Site to Summit Control Dam (the Proposed Undertaking). The generating station will have an installed capacity of about 73 megawatts and an annual output of approximately 365 gigawatt hours of energy. There is no change to the other associated facilities, including access roads, a concrete batch plant and a construction camp."

Project Status

Under the Class Environmental Assessment for Waterpower Projects, there are five different phases in the planning process.

As of June, 2011, OPG is in Phase 2 - Definition for the added scope to the Project, including the transmission facilities and the automation of Summit Control Dam. For the proposed Generating Station, OPG is in Phase 3 - Assessment.

Next Steps

An amended Project Description to describe in more detail the changes in scope to the Project is being prepared and will be released for feedback in the near future.

Field studies are being conducted in the study area to support the environmental assessment and technical feasibility of the proposed undertaking. OPG will be initiating formal consultation and engagement activities later this year and notices announcing public open houses will be published at a later date. In addition, various other methods of notification, consultation and engagement will be carried out during the environmental assessment and approvals process.

Get Involved

In order to facilitate communication and the distribution of project information, OPG is building a stakeholder list. Please see the contacts section of this web site to add your name to the stakeholder list in order to receive regular updates about the project.

OPG welcomes your input about the proposed undertaking. Bringing together all relevant viewpoints at the earliest opportunity in the planning of this project is more likely to ensure that all potential concerns and issues are considered during the environmental assessment process.