Hydro Ottawa has agreed to acquire the remaining 33% interest in the Ottawa River Ring Dam and a 27MW hydroelectric generating station, Centrale Hull 2, on the Gatineau side of Chaudière Falls from Hydro-Québec.
Hydro Ottawa has agreed to acquire the remaining 33% interest in the Ottawa River Ring Dam and a 27MW hydroelectric generating station, Centrale Hull 2, on the Gatineau side of Chaudière Falls from Hydro-Québec.
Hydro Ottawa’s existing portfolio at Chaudière Falls includes six run-of-the-river hydroelectric generation plants, a 67% interest in the Ring Dam, and all water rights. In 2014, Hydro Ottawa announced a 40-year contract with the former Ontario Power Authority (now merged with the Independent Electricity System Operator) to expand its Chaudière Falls site with a new 29MW facility, scheduled to be completed in 2017.
Once this acquisition is complete, Hydro Ottawa will own 100% of the hydroelectric facilities at the Chaudière site on both sides of the Ottawa River.
Hydro Ottawa is already the largest municipally owned producer of green energy in Ontario with a generation capacity of 79 megawatts (enough to power 62,000 homes a year). The acquisition aligns with Hydro Ottawa’s 2012-2016 Strategic Direction to increase the utility’s supply of clean energy to customers, and by pursuing low-risk opportunities with stable long-term returns.
The closing of this acquisition, subject to conditions, is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2016.