Little Jackfish Hydro-Electric and Transmission Projects
The Proposed Growth Plan for Northern Ontario refers to the need for planned investments in the transmission network in Northwestern Ontario, the development of Aboriginal business capacity and educational opportunities so Aboriginal peoples will be able to access jobs from sustainable, green energy projects, and co-ordinating the actions of all orders of government to achieve these important objectives.
The Little Jackfish Generation and Transmission Projects are the catalysts needed to begin implementing the Growth Plan within the Lake Nipigon/Lake Superior areas, but their ongoing development is at a critical juncture. Ministerial directives are urgently needed to continue moving the Projects forward.
NOMA adopted the following resolution at its 2010 Annual General Meeting:
“Ontario’s Energy Transmission Plans
Whereas the production, transmission and distribution of electricity is a key part of the Northwestern Ontario economy, and
Whereas NOMA, Atikokan and the City of Thunder Bay have been interveners before the Ontario Energy Board on the matter of transmission plans for Northwestern Ontario, and
Whereas Hydro One Networks, on a request from the Ontario Minister of Energy has developed a plan for the upgrading and linking of transmission facilities in the Northwest, and
Whereas these same plans are referenced in the draft of the Grow North Plan,
Therefore be it resolved that NOMA endorse the East of Nipigon to Pickle Lake line as outlined in the Northern Ontario Growth Plan conditional on the following:
1. The Little Jackfish hydro-electric project being approved and constructed, and
2. that the plan be modified to provide, at Hydro One Network’s expense, a transmission station or stations, designed to provide service to the Communities of Whitesand First Nation, Armstrong and Gull Bay First Nation, and
3. that the station be designed to provide sufficient power to upgrade the existing line from Beardmore to Longlac and Nakina and to power the future line to the Ring of Fire, and
Further be it resolved that the Pickle Lake to Ear Falls line be upgraded and a new line connecting Ignace to Pickle Lake be constructed within the next ten years, as per the assessment by Hydro One Networks, and that the proposed construction of the Thunder Bay-Kenora and Nipigon-Wawa lines proceed as outlined in the Hydro One Network Plan.”
Therefore, Be It Resolved that NOMA request the Honourable Brad Duguid, Minister of Energy for the Province of Ontario to issue the following directives:
(i) To Hydro One, directing it to complete in a timely fashion the Environmental Assessment for the proposed Nipigon to Little Jackfish Transmission Line, (also known as the southern portion of the North-West Transmission Expansion Project), in order to ensure that delay in transmission does not impede the planned schedule for the development of the Little Jackfish Generation Project and other green energy projects within the region;
(ii) To Hydro One, directing it to upgrade the existing transmission corridor infrastructure from the 3 OPA electricity stations on the Nipigon River to Greenstone in order to provide the electricity required for the development of the Ring of Fire initiatives; and
(iii) To the Ontario Power Authority, directing it to proceed with the development of a revenue arrangement with the proposed Little Jackfish Power Limited Partnership between Waaskiinaysay Ziibi Inc and Ontario Power Generation in order to maintain the schedule for the development of the Little Jackfish Generation Project; and,
Further be it resolved that NOMA work with like minded organizations to continue to advocate for the approval and construction of both the transmission line and the hydraulic generation facilities, and
Further be it resolved that a copy of this resolution be sent to the following with a request that they work to ensure that all necessary steps required to implement this resolution are taken:
• Premier Dalton McGuinty
• Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry
• Minister of Energy
• Minister of Natural Resources
• Tim Hudak, Leader of the Official Opposition
• Andrea Horwath, Leader, Ontario New Democrats
• Ontario Chamber of Commerce
• Municipalities of Thunder Bay, Shuniah, Dorion, Red Rock, Nipigon and Greenstone.
Adopted by the NOMA Board of Directors November 2010
