Wesleyville

The Town of Port Hope and First Nations have said they are willing to expand discussions to explore the potential for nuclear generation, making Wesleyville the first of the three Strategic Site communities to have both municipal and Indigenous interest. 

The Wesleyville site also has many features that make it the ideal site to build new large nuclear in Ontario, including:

• Existing zoning for generation 
• ~1,300 acres of land size
• Potential to co-locate other industries 
• Existing access to transmission, railways and roads 
• Adjacent to the Durham Region clean energy corridor which is home to Pickering and Darlington Nuclear Generating Stations.

Yes. OPG places great importance on building strong relationships and partnerships with host communities, neighbours and Indigenous Nations on whose traditional territory we operate.

Exploring new power generation is a complex and lengthy process that includes multiple opportunities for input and an ongoing program of public education and engagement.

The decision to proceed with nuclear power will ultimately be decided by local government, Rightsholders, the residents of Northumberland and the Canadian nuclear regulator. 

We also seek to ensure that host community residents and businesses derive long-term value from the many economic, social and infrastructure benefits that result from OPG projects and operations.

OPG acknowledges the importance of early involvement of Aboriginal and Treaty Rightsholders and is committed to creating lasting mutually beneficially relationships with Indigenous Nations and communities.

OPG has begun early engagement with Aboriginal and Treaty Rightsholder Indigenous Nations proximate to the strategic sites, to ensure they have a voice at the table. Discussions include potential opportunities for equity or economic partnerships as we continually strive to advance Indigenous economic reconciliation.

OPG will also make capacity funding available to advance Indigenous economic reconciliation and support early engagement with Indigenous communities for: ​

• Indigenous knowledge studies​
• Rights impact assessments​
• Other required environmental, legal, and archaeological studies​

First, we want to ensure they have the necessary resources to participate in a meaningful way in the exploration process.  Funding will be provided to support this capacity.

In terms of site exploration, we start with baseline studies around various environmental and archaeological considerations (noise, light, species at risk, etc.). This work would include some drone assessments, on-site monitoring equipment and bore hole drilling to gather geotechnical information. Most of this work is largely unobtrusive.  

In parallel with our site assessment work, we would begin exploring how best to attract and co-locate other economic development activities to these areas.

It will require several years for OPG to undertake the necessary work, in collaboration with the host community and Indigenous Nations, before it can be determined whether the site can proceed to support new power generation.

Any decision to proceed with new generation would undergo a regulatory process with public input throughout to verify OPG’s conclusions. Only then could preparation of the site begin.

Additional licenses, at each phase in the life cycle of the power plant, would also be required, each with public engagement opportunities and public regulatory hearings.

In total, it could take approximately 15 years before the first generating unit is connected to the grid.  

Our aim is to ensure host community residents and businesses derive value from the many economic, social, and infrastructure benefits associated with a generation project and its ongoing operations. 

Indigenous Nations would have the opportunity for equity participation as well as the economic and job opportunities stemming from other industries who may co-late in the project area.

OPG has also set aside a total of up to $50 million for all three sites. This funding would be provided on a milestone basis to help willing municipal hosts support infrastructure and investment attraction and readiness.  Under this milestone-based program, Port Hope could access up to $30 million. 

The total amount of funding for each site will be contingent upon the technology, size, and scope of potential new generation development. Nuclear developments are typically large, lengthy undertakings that require supporting infrastructure.  Funding support for such a project would therefore be considerably larger.  

Communities would also benefit from:

• Payments in lieu of taxes for generating site and property tax on ancillary buildings
• Supply chain spending
• Spending by employees working and living in the region
• Corporate and employee charitable giving
• Environmental initiatives, including potential biodiversity protection initiatives

Interested communities requiring capacity to enable meaningful, engagement with OPG can request funding support.

The size of a facility would depend on the type of nuclear technology that is suitable for the property and surrounding area.

We will understand the possibilities better once we speak with the municipality and Indigenous Nations. We would also have to undertake exploration work on the site. 

Early studies indicate the Wesleyville property could potentially host a significant amount of generation, 8,000-10,000 MWs, which could power the equivalent of eight to ten million homes. 

The Conference Board of Canada studied the potential economic benefits of constructing a large nuclear generation project at the OPG Wesleyville site, using a scenario of 8,000-10,000 MWs station (which could power 8 to 10 million homes), and pulling from other large nuclear projects as benchmarks.  

The benefits were calculated separately for the design and construction phase, projected at approximately 25 years, and the operation and maintenance phase, estimated at 70 years. The total project lifespan, including refurbishment and decommissioning, was estimated to be approximately 95 years.

Conservatively, the key potential benefits to Port Hope over the project’s life are as follows:

• From its inception through to its operations, the nuclear facility would boost GDP in Port Hope by $65.7 billion.
• It would generate $10.5 million in municipal tax revenues annually for Port Hope.
• It would boost overall employment levels an average of 15 to 20 per cent.

As part of a milestone-based Municipal Host Agreement, Port Hope could also access up to $30 million of funding for associated infrastructure investments and to help attract co-located industries.

As a first step, interested communities can request  funding, if needed, to support them in exploring the generating options, so they have the expertise to make informed decisions.

The next steps would be to work towards a broader willing host Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and subsequently, a Host Municipal Agreement, with additional funding provided as various milestones are reached.

The total amount of funding would be contingent upon the size and scope of potential new generation development. This will be explored through OPG’s engagement and site assessment process.

This milestone-based funding structure would be used to ensure municipalities are equipped to support a generation project from a community infrastructure perspective.

OPG would also undertake parallel public education and engagement activities to ensure local residents can participate and provide their input.

There will be many opportunities to do this leading up to and throughout the project development period.

No, but the amount will be determined by the technology, size, scope, and development impacts.  Nuclear builds are large, lengthy undertakings that require supporting infrastructure. Funding support for such a project would therefore be considerably larger.  

Projects will only be explored if they have a willing host community and Indigenous participation.

Wesleyville is being prioritized for site assessment work because the First Nations and the municipality have expressed interest in exploring nuclear generation development.

We will continue our discussions with communities in both Lambton and Nanticoke.