The parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Energy delivered some welcome news in Windsor on Monday.
Stephen Crawford says the province is taking action to ensure the efficient and timely development of five new electricity transmission infrastructure projects in Southwest Ontario, including one that will help support a new battery plant in Windsor.
The government has issued an Order-in-Council declaring three transmission line projects as priorities, streamlining the Ontario Energy Board's regulatory approval process for these lines.
The priority declaration requires the OEB to accept that the three initial lines are needed when assessing whether the projects are in the public interest, expediting the review process so projects can be brought online earlier.
The Minister of Energy has also directed the OEB to amend the transmission license of Hydro One, requiring it to undertake development work and seek approvals for four of the identified transmission lines.
Hydro One was previously designated as the transmitter for the Chatham-to-Lakeshore line in 2020.
The five transmission projects between London, Windsor and Sarnia represent an investment of more than $1 billion and are proposed to be developed in phases through 2030:
- The Chatham to Lakeshore Line, a 230-kilovolt line from Chatham Switching Station to the new Lakeshore Transformer Station currently under construction in the municipality of Lakeshore.
- The St. Clair Line, a 230-kilovolt line from Lambton Transformer Station, south of Sarnia, to Chatham Switching Station,
- The Longwood to Lakeshore Line, a 500-kilovolt line from Longwood Transformer Station, west of London, to the new Lakeshore Transformer Station,
- A second 500-kilovolt line from Longwood Transformer Station to Lakeshore Transformer Station, with scope to be further refined through planning by the IESO, and
- A 230-kilovolt line that would run from the Windsor area to Lakeshore Transformer station, with scope to be further refined through planning by the IESO.
Crawford says new transmission projects often face lengthy development times, but the government saw the importance of moving here.
"These projects will power the Stellantis LGES Battery Plant, the growing manufacturing sector here in Windsor, the booming agri-food industry in Leamington and across Essex County and many job creators that are yet to come."
Crawford was joined at the announcement by Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens and Leamington mayor Hilda MacDonald.
Dilken says today is a great day for Windsor and Essex County, as every single person who lives here understands that the recent announcement about the EV battery plant is a gamechanger for the region , which is why it was important to make sure they get the power they need.
"This is massive, this is monumental, and this will make a huge impact to the future of our region. But first as that battery factory is being built and will power electric vehicles of the future we have to make sure that that battery factory has the power it needs to operate. That's why today's announcement is so exciting because it's about doing just that."
He says everyone around the council table realizes these types of investments take a lot of work behind the scenes to come to fruition.
"This is really about a whole of government approach. So it took the federal government being a partner, it took the provincial government being a partner, and it really took everyone walking the walk to make sure this could happen. And it took the unanimous approach of everyone on city council."
The province says these moves will give businesses the confidence to expand or invest in their operations and create new jobs, which includes certainty for growing industries, such as the recently announced investment in the province's first large-scale EV battery manufacturing plant in Windsor.