Ontario Power Generation (OPG) wants to build a large new gas-fired power plant in Napanee. This would be the third polluting gas plant in this small community.

Napanee is already home to the massive Lennox power plant, the largest gas-fired plant in Ontario, and to the third largest gas plant in Ontario (the Napanee gas plant – originally planned to be located in the GTA and then shifted east in response to community protests). Together, these two plants are responsible for more than one-quarter of all the gas-fired electricity generation capacity in Ontario.

Asking this community to accept yet another gas plant that will add to the already significant air pollution and health impacts of burning gas in Napanee’s two existing gas plants is completely unreasonable.

But OPG and the Ford government have a problem: Few communities are interested in hosting health and climate damaging gas-fired power plants. That’s why OPG has resorted to trying to induce Greater Napanee Council to accept yet another gas plant by offering payments to the community. OPG seems to think you can put a price on good health, clean air and a safe climate.

Why should Greater Napanee take on the completely unnecessary air pollution and health burdens caused by the Ford government’s refusal to look at alternatives, such as improved energy efficiency and better electricity demand management, solar and wind power with storage (i.e., Hydro Quebec’s reservoirs and EV batteries with bi-directional chargers) or more summer waterpower imports from Quebec?

The Ford government seems to think Napanee is only useful as a place to burn polluting gas. It is time for the community to say it has other ideas for the future it wants. We have less than a decade to dramatically reduce climate wrecking emissions if we are to have any hope of reducing the severity of storms, flooding, fires and the spread of diseases like lyme disease thanks to climate change. Increasing the burning of fossil fuels is the last thing we should be doing now. And it is the last thing Napanee needs.

Talk to your friends and neighbours about this plan to saddle Napanee with yet another polluting gas plant.

And send message to Mayor Richardson and Town Council urging them to reject OPG’s plan for more gas burning in Napanee.