Hydro One has preferred route to add 400 megawatts of energy to region

A preferred route announced by Hydro One for a new St. Clair Transmission Line will add 400 megawatts of energy.

The 60-kilomentre route will connect a new 230 kilovolt transmission line between the Lambton Transformer Station and the Chatham Transformer Station using about 80 per cent of the existing corridors while updating an existing transmission line. The project is projected to be online in 2028.

Noting the route for the new line, which will replace the existing 115 kV line, will "maximize the amount of it that we could actually run across on the same transmission corridor," Hydro One director of project delivery Sonny Karunakaran said during a technical briefing Monday at the Wallaceburg Transformer Station.

Since the existing corridor doesn't go all the way to the Chatham and Lambton transformer stations, he said some parts of the new line have to take up a new transmission corridor in order to do that.

The proposed new transmission line will also mean upgrading the Wallaceburg Transformer Station, which will increase the transmission reliability and resiliency for the Wallaceburg area, said Karunakaran.

Hydro One looked at five routes before choosing its preferred route, which cumulatively scored the best overall in four categories: least impact on natural environment, lowest socio-economic impact, least effect on Indigenous culture, values and land and technical and cost impact.

"The exact locations of the towers will be different," Karunakaran said. "Being a 230 Kv line, there's the possibility that they are actually going to have greater span lengths as well."

While the preferred transmission line route has been selected, Karunakaran said public consultation is far from over.

Hydro One's real estate team will work directly with impacted property owners to discuss and consult on next steps "in a fair, open, consistent and transparent manner," it said.

Community open houses, which run from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., are planned for:

Karunakaran said Hydro One has a good relationship with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

"The impact of this new line, once built, will be remarkable for the region," said Louis Roesch, OFA director for Essex and Kent in a media release. "We continue to work closely with Hydro One and offer feedback from our members."

The need for power is expected to quadruple by 2035.

Karunakaran said Hydro One has a mandate to construct up to five new transmission lines in Southwestern Ontario. He said construction started on the Chatham to Lakeshore transmission line and the St. Clair project is the second of the five transmission line projects.

Two new lines are planned from the Longwoods Transformer Station down to Lakeshore, passing through Chatham, and another line is slated from Lakeshore to Windsor.

"This project will enable the greenhouse vegetable sector to grow in Ontario, reinforcing the domestic food supply production system and growing fresh and nutritious vegetables in addition to being a key economic contributor," Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers board chair George Gilvesy said in a release.

Municipal governments are also happy with the planned power expansion.

"This new transmission line will support local food supply and security, economic development and job creation in our region," said St. Clair Township Mayor Jeff Agar in a media release.

Noting the network of electricity infrastructure projects is critical to meet the future energy demand in the region, Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff said, "We will continue to work with Hydro One throughout the engagement process to ensure clean and reliable energy will continue to power Southwestern Ontario for years to come."

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