Ontario Power Generation

Looking to the Future

OPG is getting ready for the future. Ontario needs electricity to light homes and schools, run businesses and hospitals, and drive the economy. Through conservation, individuals and businesses are working to reduce Ontarians' per capita energy needs. But conservation alone cannot provide for the energy needs of a growing population. Nor can it replace the energy currently produced by the coal-fired power plants that will be closed within a few years. OPG must be ready for the unknowns, as well. Putting all of Ontario's hydroelectric potential to work makes sense.

Hydroelectricity — Making Sense
Hydroelectricity has a long and storied past in Ontario. This clean, renewable source of energy fuelled the province's dramatic economic growth in the first half of the twentieth century. When the population expanded after 1945, OPG added other energy sources because hydroelectricity alone could not fulfill Ontario's growing energy needs. Even so, OPG still supplies about 20 per cent of Ontario's electricity through hydroelectric generation.



Hydroelectricity is a clean, renewable resource - one that contributes to a clean, green, healthy quality of life for all Ontarians. Pictured here is the Sir Adam Beck 2 Generating Station which was put in service in 1954.

• Hydroelectricity is clean – it produces no pollution and minimal greenhouse gases.
  
  
• Hydroelectricity is a renewable resource. Like solar and wind power, water power will never run out. OPG has a wealth of experience and expertise in harvesting the energy potential of falling water.
  
  
• Hydroelectricity leaves the natural environment relatively intact. All water taken out of the environment is returned, with no added pollutants or temperature change.
  
  
• Hydroelectric facilities are long-lasting. They can run with minimal maintenance for a hundred years or more.