Lennox Generating Station
{{Infobox power station
| name = Lennox Generating Station
| name_official =
| image = Lennox power stn.JPG
| image_caption =
| image_alt =
| location_map_caption = Location within southern Ontario
| location = 7263 33 Highway West, Greater Napanee, Ontario K0H 1G0
| country = Canada
| coordinates = {{coord|44|08|46|N|76|51|09|W|type:landmark_region:CA-ON|display=title,inline}}
| cost =
| owner = Ontario Power Generation
| operator =
| status = O
| th_fuel_primary = Natural gas
| th_fuel_secondary = Fuel oil
| th_fuel_tertiary =
| th_technology = Steam turbine
| ps_units_manu_model =
| th_cogeneration =
| th_combined_cycle =
| ps_units_operational = 4 × 535 MW
| ps_electrical_capacity = 2,140 MW
| construction_began =
| commissioned = 1976
| decommissioned =
| website = {{URL|https://www.opg.com/powering-ontario/our-generation/gas-power/}}
}}
Lennox Generating Station is a natural gas- and fuel oil-fired power station in Lennox and Addington County, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by Ontario Power Generation, it is situated on Highway 33 on the north shore of Lake Ontario, {{convert|2|mi|km}} west of Bath, Ontario. It is the largest natural gas power station in Canada by installed capacity.
In the 1970s, Lennox was a solely oil-fired plant in an era of rising oil prices. Oil is delivered by tanker cars via a spur of the Montreal-Kingston-Toronto CN Rail line. From 1982 to 1987 the plant was placed in reserve to surplus power in Ontario. In 1997, the plant was converted to operate with either heavy oil or natural gas.{{cite web|url=http://www.opg.com/power/thermal/lennox.asp |title=Power Generation: Lennox Generating Station |publisher=Ontario Power Generation |accessdate=2012-09-26}} In 2008, the plant obtained regulatory approval for an ozone generation system to control zebra mussel fouling of service water intake pipes.{{cite web |url=http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/pest/_decisions/rd2008-12/index-eng.php |title=Registration Decision: Hankin Ozone Generator (RD2008-12) |publisher=Health Canada |date=27 November 2008 |accessdate=2012-10-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111024652/http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/pest/_decisions/rd2008-12/index-eng.php |archive-date=11 January 2013 |url-status=dead }}
As of 2007, Lennox represented 50% of Ontario installed generation capacity east of the Toronto zone. When operating at full capacity, the plant claims to be the largest user of natural gas in Ontario.{{cite news|url=http://www.napaneeguide.com/2010/06/04/lennox-generating-station-earns-safety-designation |title=Lennox Generating Station earns safety designation |publisher=Napanee Guide |date=2010-06-04 |accessdate=2012-10-12}} The facility is operated solely at times of peak load; the base load for the Ottawa-Toronto region is supplied by Pickering and Darlington stations in Durham Region{{cite web |url=http://www.ieso.ca/imoweb/pubs/corp2/IESO_REP_0393-Lennox-GS-Deregistration-Analysis.pdf |title=Lennox GS Deregistration Analysis |date=2007 |accessdate=2012-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902112116/http://ieso.ca/imoweb/pubs/corp2/IESO_REP_0393-Lennox-GS-Deregistration-Analysis.pdf |archive-date=2013-09-02 |url-status=dead }} and by an asynchronous interconnection with Hydro-Québec which has served Ottawa since 2010.{{cite web |url=http://www.hydroquebec.com/projects/outaouais.html |title=Outaouais Substation |publisher=Hydro Québec |accessdate=2012-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110123200603/http://www.hydroquebec.com/projects/outaouais.html |archive-date=2011-01-23 |url-status=dead }}
It is common to operate on natural gas during the summer season and switch to oil in the winter, when demand is high for gas.[http://www.industcards.com/st-other-canada.htm Power Plants Around the World] {{webarchive|url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090719144935/http%3A//www.industcards.com/st%2Dother%2Dcanada.htm |date=2009-07-19 }}
Description
The Lennox Generating Station consists of:
- 4 535 MW units
- 2 smokestacks - each {{convert|650|ft|m}} tall.{{cite web|url=http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?buildingID=3591 |title=Drawings of Lennox Generating Station Units 1+2 |publisher=SkyscraperPage |accessdate=2012-09-26}}{{cite web|url=http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?buildingID=3186 |title=Drawings of Lennox Generating Station Units 3+4 |publisher=SkyscraperPage |accessdate=2012-09-26}}
In 2012, Ontario's government announced an additional 900-megawatt TransCanada Energy natural gas plant (ultimately called the Napanee Generation Station) to be built at the Lennox Generating Station site; the project was originally planned for Oakville, Ontario{{cite news|author=Robert Benzie |author2=Marco Chown Oved |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1261377--oakville-power-plant-will-cost-public-40m-to-scuttle |title=Oakville power plant will cost public $40M to scuttle |publisher=Toronto Star |accessdate=2012-10-12 |date=2012-09-24}} but the location was changed in 2010 as part of a controversial government decision to relocate it and another gas-fired power plant.{{cite news|url=http://business.financialpost.com/2012/09/24/liberal-deal-to-move-oakville-gas-fired-plant-to-lennox-will-cost-40m/ |title=Liberal deal to move Oakville gas-fired plant to Lennox will cost $40M |newspaper=Financial Post |date=24 September 2012 |accessdate=2012-09-26}}{{cite web |url=http://www.auditor.on.ca/en/reports_en/mississaugapower_en.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-01-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201225144/http://www.auditor.on.ca/en/reports_en/mississaugapower_en.pdf |archive-date=2014-02-01 }} While estimates vary, the additional costs to transport natural gas eastward and generated power westward are expected to represent hundreds of millions of dollars over the lifetime of the new generation plant;{{cite news|url=http://opinion.financialpost.com/2012/10/10/the-733-million-gas-boondoggle/ |title=Ontario's Power Trip: The $733-million gas boondoggle |author=Bruce Sharp |publisher=Financial Post |date=2012-09-24 |accessdate=2012-10-12}} one report claims $675 million.{{cite news|title=Oakville gas plant cancellation costs $675M, AG says|work=CBC News|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/oakville-gas-plant-cancellation-costs-675m-ag-says-1.1930206}} The relocation of this proposed plant, and another proposed for Mississauga but displaced to Sarnia's Lambton Generating Station, were key political issues in 2011 and 2014 Ontario elections.
As of 2012, the site employed 160 people; an additional 25 permanent jobs will be added as a result of the 900MW expansion.{{cite web|url=http://www.ckwstv.com/news/kingston/Story.aspx?ID=1779920 |title=More reaction to expansion of Lennox generating station |publisher=CKWS-TV |accessdate=2012-09-26}}
Emissions
| class="wikitable"
|+ Greenhouse Gases (2012){{Cite web|url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/ges-ghg/donnees-data/index.cfm?do=facility_info&lang=en&ghg_id=G10177&year=2012|title=Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program data search - Canada.ca}} ! scope="col" | Greenhouse gas ! scope="col" | Sum (tonnes) ! scope="col" | Sum (tonnes CO2e*) |
| scope="row" | CO2
| 180,585.00 || 180,585 |
|---|
| scope="row" | CH4
| 42.00 || 882 |
| scope="row" | N2O
| 5.00 || 1,550 |
| scope="row" | Total
| - || 183,017 |
*Calculated figures for CO2e are rounded to the nearest tonne.
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Emissions (tonnes CO2e) |
|---|
| 2004
|638,074 |
| 2005
|986,676 |
| 2006
|305,106 |
| 2007
|607,761 |
| 2008
|288,674 |
| 2009
|222,470 |
| 2010
|121,412 |
| 2011
|103,652 |
| 2012
|183,017 |
See also
{{Portal|Ontario|Energy}}