THUNDER BAY – An Alberta company is proposing to build a power plant that could generate up to 31 megawatts of power in the Intercity area.
Versorium Energy Ltd. presented their proposal for a $50 million to $80 million natural gas facility to the city’s standing committee on growth at their Tuesday meeting and held a public open house on Wednesday at the Slovack Legion.
Versorium would be an independent power producer that owns and operates the facility and sell the power to the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) as well as selling heat to Canada Malting Co. Ltd, to offset the 5.5 acres that Versorium would be leasing from them at the intersection of Central Avenue and Maureen Street.
Chris Codd, vice-president of asset management and regulatory for Versorium, said the project will only proceed if it’s selected for the IESO’s procurement process, after which they would be seeking out permits from the municipality, as required, in June 2026.
After getting regulator and permitting approvals, construction will start in the spring of 2028 and be completed in 2029.
Agarwal asked why Versorium chose Thunder Bay for the project.
Codd said their partner company, Enerflex Ltd., which would be in charge of engineering, procurement, and construction for the project, if approved by the IESO, approached them.
“Ontario is interesting because of the IESO’s procurement, but Thunder Bay in particular, it was actually Enerflex that approached us about working with Canada Malting because Enerflex has built a similar facility for Canada Malting in Calgary,” Codd said.
“Enerflex will employ between 15 and 20 people during the construction phase, according to Frederic Lebel, senior account manager of power and new energies at Enerflex.
“We have our own forces for project management and engineering, but we do engage local subcontractors for every discipline. It starts with excavations, civil contractors, mechanical contractors, and electrical contractors. We try to use as much local resources as possible. Typically, they know the soil better. They are able to optimize resources, so we like to collaborate with subcontractors,” Lebel told Newswatch in an interview.
Codd said the project is designed to use up to eight Jenbacher natural gas-fired engines, four producing 3.3 megawatts each and four producing 4.5 megawatts each. There will be two electrical switchgear buildings, and two step-up transformers will also be built on-site.
Lebel said they “will first start by doing some civil work, which would involve some piles and some foundations.” Then, they will bring in the modular high-efficiency generators, which will be assembled at the site by electrical and mechanical subcontractors.
“There will be cabling, piping that’s done and then our team will do commissioning in various steps in collaboration with the grid authorities and all the authorities having jurisdiction,” Lebel said.
After construction, Enerflex will employ two to three people to operate the plant, with additional technical jobs for maintenance and repair.
“We will offer training opportunities for these operators, and then there’s a long-term service maintenance that will go for the full 20 years. We really hope we can find good technicians that are interested in joining Enerflex to get trained and then perform the maintenance in the long term of this facility,” Lebel said.
During the committee meeting, Pasqualino asked how the environment would be impacted by this project.
Cobb said there will be a direct impact because they will be producing greenhouse gas; however, they will be offsetting “emissions by selling heat to Canada Malting, because that will reduce the amount of natural gas that they have to burn within a boiler for their process.”
He further explained that the electricity demand is expected to grow in the Northwest, “which will also potentially offset emissions elsewhere within the electricity system. A gas generator in Northeastern Ontario or in Southern Ontario would have to run to meet the new demand in Northwestern Ontario.”
“A similar facility operating elsewhere to meet that demand would end up emitting more to produce more power to account for the amount lost on the way,” Cobb said.
The facility would also include a system to reduce the local air pollution from engine exhaust by converting some nitrogen oxides (NOx) into nitrogen gas and water vapour, he said. A selective catalytic reduction control system would “significantly reduce the NOx to well below the regulatory obligations.”
“One of the nice parts about these reciprocating engines from Jenbacher is that they are able to use renewable natural gas. If and when that fuel is available to the site, they will also be able to use green hydrogen or any form of hydrogen, with a retrofit to the facility,” Cobb said.
“What does that mean for going into the future? As we shift the energy system to lower emissions, a big part of that will be finding alternative fuels that could be used to run and reuse facilities that currently use natural gas, which is an emitting fuel.”
The project will also include two overhead distribution lines tying in to the existing Enbridge natural gas system, a thermal hot water storage tank and a pipeline to deliver thermal energy to Canada Malting Co. Ltd.
The project’s engines and electrical switchgear will be housed in sound attenuated modules to ensure provincial noise guidelines are being followed.
Cobb said the facility is targeting below 45 decibels at any receptor, but a formal study of noise still needs to be completed.
