DRYDEN, ONT. – Hydro One Networks Inc. has been designated to develop and construct the Red Lake Transmission Line in northwest Ontario, north of Dryden, after the Ontario government made the decision to expedite the project.
The 162-kilometre project consists of a new double-circuit 230-kilovolt transmission line that will run from the Dryden Transformer Station (TS) north to Ear Falls TS, including associated station facilities and will continue on to connect to Red Lake Switching Station, explains a release. The project is expected to be in service by the early 2030s.
Once built, the line is expected to add about 400 megawatts of electricity in northwest Ontario, nearly quadrupling existing capacity. The project is also expected to strengthen regional reliability and reinforce the grid for newly connected northern remote communities and the broader region, the release adds.
The province notes expanding electricity infrastructure in the Red Lake Region is vital to support several mining projects, including the recently announced Kinross Gold’s Great Bear Project and the Frontier Lithium’s PAK Lithium Project.
Declaring the Red Lake Transmission project a priority project and designating Hydro One as the transmitter will speed up Ontario Energy Board approval processes and provide the regulatory certainty needed to begin development work, the release adds.
In addition to the transmission line announcement, the province also launched a new Northern Hydro Program. This program will renew contracts for hydroelectric stations larger than 10 megawatts, securing more than 1,000 MW of existing capacity, most of which is located in northern Ontario.
