Lambton County could land a new Ontario hydro plant, possibly nuclear-powered

Lambton County is on a list of future sites for power plants in Ontario, including the possibility of a large nuclear facility.

Energy Minister Stephen Lecce announced today that three sites – already owned by Ontario Power Generation – are under consideration.

The plan includes the site of the former Lambton Generating Station. It was decommissioned and then torn down in 2019.

The province said the site, along with the others in Haldimand County and the Port Hope area, is being eyed to meet an anticipated 75 per cent increase in demand for power by 2050.

Leece said the first step in the process will be consultations with municipalities and First Nations.

St. Clair Township Mayor Jeff Agar calls it welcome news.

His municipality lost over $2 million of its tax base when the coal-fired Lambton Generation Station closed. “That’s hard to recover, really hard,” he told CTV News London.

St. Clair Township suffered a further setback recently when an announced $245 million whiskey distillery plant went on hold.

“Obviously the Diageo Corp. plant we've been talking about is in a pause right now. So something like this would bring on more, more jobs, more work construction, the trade unions,” said Agar. “And, it's kind of quiet now, so it'd be nice to jump start again.”