Atikokan Generating Station

Atikokan Generating Station is a biomass power plant owned by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) located 8 km north of Atikokan, Ontario (190 km 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.

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

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. The plant's chimney is 145 m tall, and the steam temperature is 538 C. This plant is connected to the provincial power grid via several 230,000-volt transmission lines.

Emissions
*Calculated figures for CO2e are rounded to the nearest tonne.