Atikokan Generating Station

Atikokan Generating Station is a biomass power plant owned by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) located 8 km (5 mi) north of Atikokan, Ontario (190 km (118 mi) west of Thunder Bay). The plant employs 90 people. The Atikokan Generating Station began operation as a coal fired station in 1985 and underwent an overhaul in the autumn of 2003.

Until 2012, it had one coal fueled generating unit with low nitrogen oxide (NOx) burners, providing a peak output of 230 MW fuelled by low-sulfur lignite coal from the Ravenscrag Formation in Southern Saskatchewan.[1]

In late 2012, the facility powered down and underwent renovations, due to the Ontario government's initiative to eliminate all coal-fired electricity generation.[2] It is the first generating station to be converted by OPG to be fueled by biomass,[3] and is North America's largest purely biomass-fueled power plant.[4] The conversion came at a cost of C$200 million, and the plant was re-opened on 10 September 2014.[4][5][6]

Annual production at the plant is approximately 900 million kilowatt-hours (kWh), enough energy to supply approximately 70,000 households for one year. The station occupies an area of 300 ha (741 acres). The plant's chimney is 145 m (476 ft) tall, and the steam temperature is 538 °C (1,000 °F). This plant is connected to the provincial power grid via several 230,000-volt transmission lines.