Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc. is continuing to lead the way to a smart energy future. Through its subsidiary Portage Power, it has acquired two additional hydroelectric generating stations from TransAlta Renewables located on the Mississippi River in the Town of Appleton and Galetta Falls.
With a passion for environmental sustainability, Portage Power is the largest municipally-owned producer of green power in the province of Ontario. Including the addition of these two generating stations, the company will now own and operate 18 run-of-the-river hydroelectric generation plants in Ontario, Quebec and New York in addition to the 16 solar installations it has across the city of Ottawa.
“Given the inextricable link between energy and the environment, how energy is produced matters. This acquisition aligns us with Canada’s goal of a 100 per cent emissions-free electrical grid by 2035 and takes us one step closer to our net-zero operations goal,” said Bryce Conrad, president and chief executive officer of Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc. “Investing in green energy will help us build a brighter and more sustainable future for the communities we serve.”
The Appleton Generating Station (GS) is located on the Mississippi River, in the town of Appleton, Ontario. The plant was built in 1994 on the site of an old mill and consists of a powerhouse building, intake channel and control dam.
The Galetta (GS) is located near Almonte, Ontario on the Mississippi River where it connects with the Ottawa River. Originally built in 1907, the plant consists of a control dam, intake canal, powerhouse and tailrace channel.
Both new facilities are EcoLogoM certified by the Environmental Choice Program.
Together these facilities generate an average of 12.5 gigawatt hours annually, increasing Portage Power’s total green generation capacity from 128 to 131 megawatts, enough to power approximately 110,000 homes.
Hydro Ottawa owns and operates three primary subsidiaries: Hydro Ottawa Limited, which distributes electricity across the nation’s capital; Portage Power is Ontario’s largest municipally-owned producer of green power, with hydroelectric, solar and landfill gas-to-energy facilities; and Envari Energy Solutions Inc., which is performing two critical projects for the City of Ottawa: the four-year, $57.2 million cogeneration system upgrade at Ottawa’s wastewater collection and treatment plant, and the installation of EV charging infrastructure for the City of Ottawa’s first set of electric buses.
Hydroelectric stations provided approximately 23 per cent of Ontario’s electricity generation in 2020. On average this hydroelectric power is the lowest-cost electricity in Ontario and supports Ontario’s clean energy advantage.
Hydroelectric facilities have minimal impact on the environment because they produce zero waste, zero carbon emissions, and zero greenhouse gasses. Instead they rely on the natural flow of their water source, and can generate power 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long.
Featured image of Chaudière Crossing Bridge. Credit: Hydro Ottawa.
