Environmental

OPG releases first ESG report, highlights hydroelectric facilities

OPG releases first ESG report, highlights hydroelectric facilities
Calabogie Hydro station (photo courtesy Ontario Power Generation)

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has released its inaugural annual Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report, which details the company’s ESG performance and practices and includes information on its hydroelectric facilities.

The report highlights the direct and indirect contributions to the province’s economy, community wellbeing and social fabric, including how OPG is focused on becoming a net-zero company by 2040 and enabling a net-zero economy by 2050.

OPG has generating facilities in Ontario and the U.S. with a total capacity of 18,958 MW. In Ontario, the company owns 66 hydroelectric stations on 24 river systems, as well as four nuclear stations, one biomass station, one dual-fueled oil and gas station, four combined-cycle gas stations and one solar facility. The company is also developing Canada’s first small modular reactor. In the U.S., OPG owns 87 hydroelectric stations through subsidiary Eagle Creek Renewable Energy.

With OPG’s strong hydroelectric backbone, the report provides considerable information on the hydro fleet. OPG’s Renewable Generation division is advancing several clean energy projects:

Redevelopment of the Calabogie Generating Station in eastern Ontario to bring capacity to 11 MW from 5 MW.

Replacement of two older, decommissioned units at OPG’s Sir Adam Beck I Generating Station to add about 125 MW of incremental peaking generation capacity.

Ongoing overhauls of 174 generating units across its hydro fleet, through a $2.5-billion turbine/generator overhaul program, to extend the lives of these durable assets.

OPG is also making efforts to grow its hydro portfolio in the U.S. and exploring opportunities for new hydro development in northern Ontario. For example, the company is exploring the development of a pumped hydro storage facility at a decommissioned mine site in Marmora, in collaboration with another Ontario company. Converting an open pit mine into an energy asset would be another first-of-a-kind project in Canada, OPG said.

The ESG report also calls attention to the “extreme and unpredictable weather events caused by climate change.” OPG said changes in precipitation patterns and intensity and water and air temperatures could pose physical risks to its plant operations. Potential impacts could include sub-optimal power production at hydroelectric stations, as well as potentially affecting the reliability and life expectancy of major equipment.

The company is taking several actions to adapt and enhance resilience in its operations:

Continuing to evaluate potential risks, increasing data collection and developing modelling to better understand the range of potential climate impacts and identifying opportunities to increase resilience.

Upgrading important infrastructure, including through the Little Long and Smoky Falls dam safety projects, to comply with updated requirements by the province and protect its generating assets and host communities against climate impacts.

Investigating nature-based protection measures like developing wetlands to help mitigate flooding.

Integrating climate-related risks and modelling into investment decision prioritization and engineering processes, particularly when considering future design and asset upgrades.

In a combined message, OPG Board Chair Wendy Kei and President and Chief Executive officer Ken Hartwick, President said: “At OPG, we believe our power can help change the world. …We also strive to be a good neighbour and partner to our host communities and the Indigenous communities whose land we operate on, while being a responsible corporate citizen, an ED&I [equity, diversity and inclusion] champion, and a transformational leader in the fight against climate change. OPG believes that operating in a sustainable manner, consistent with ESG principles, is fundamental to the long-term success of our company, and to our ability to deliver value and enhance the prosperity and well-being of the places and people we serve.

That’s why we have integrated ESG principles into our corporate strategy, business model, risk management framework, policy requirements, and performance targets. This means our impacts on the world outside of OPG, and the outside world’s impacts on our company, are identified and managed. … ESG is directly overseen by our Board of Directors and senior management, explicitly linked to individual performance assessments, and ESG performance helps determine executive compensation.”