Northwest eyed for power plant developments.

An American company has set its sights on Thunder Bay as the location for its next power plant, but the facility won't go up until a firm date has been set for deregulation of the electricity market.

The company, which has yet to be named, plans to build an 800-megawatt plant in the city. But Larry Hebert, general manager of Thunder Bay Hydro, says very few details about the plant and its fuel source are being revealed.

"I cant tell you about the source of the fuel because that's what they're negotiating right now," Hebert says. "But it is a pretty good source in terms of (the environment). A lot of stuff that you would normally have going up a chimney in a plant is turned into other products through the process that takes place in the plant and the small chemical plant that comes with it.

"Environmentally, we believe it's about as positive as you can be. Yes, there are some emissions, but we see it as definitely less than (that) of a coal plant and very close to what a gas plant emits.

"We're not looking at a nuclear plant here."

Hebert, who is in regular contact with the company, says the firm and others in the past have been drawn to Thunder Bay because of its proximity to the United States and Manitoba, and because of the cost sayings when building a plant in Canada.

"The reason Canada is being looked at is because we have a number of natural resources that can be used to produce power," Hebert says. "It's also a benefit to any of these plants, whether they're American or Canadian, to build here in Canada and sell into the United States because you're building and manufacturing in Canadian dollars and selling at U.s. dollars. There aren't many places where you're going to get an immediate impact of 45 cents on your dollar, so that's a real bonus, business-wise."

Herbert acknowledges concerns regarding Canada's natural resources being used to fuel an American power plant, but he says the opportunity is there for the taking.

"It's just like in the forest products industry," Hebert says. "With timber and softwood lumber, the biggest market is in the U.S. so you sell there, and it's even better if you can find a renewable resource."

But Hebert says he would like to see Thunder Bay and northwestern Ontario keep "as much control in this situation as possible in order to get output from the plant and get that cheap source of power for northwestern Ontario."

He says he would like to see the new plant bring cheaper rates to northwestern Ontario and open up more of the North to help isolated communities that are currently without hydroelectric service.

"Let's say we get a quarter of the output, or whatever it might be, whatever we can negotiate. We would put that into our grid here to provide low-cost power to northwestern Ontario so we can attract other types of industry and other types of jobs.

"The final part of our plan is to extend the grid in northwestern Ontario all the way to all of the First Nation communities that are not on a grid right now. By doing that, you also open up the North and it gives a lot of these communities a chance for economic development.

Construction of the power plant is estimated at $8 billion dollars. Hebert says the facility itself will likely need a staff of about 100, with an additional 100 to 200 full-time jobs resulting from direct spinoffs. Numerous other jobs will also be created during the construction phase.

Once the necessary environmental issues are met in terms of studies and construction of the facility, the plant could be open in less than five years.

Hebert says the interest from this particular American company could create a domino effect for the region. He says Thunder Bay and northwestern Ontario could see many new power plants popping up.

"We've found that since we started talking about this there have been a number of Canadian firms that have come forth and said they would be interested in doing something as well. So we may end up with more, and I wouldn't be shocked at all if there's more than one plant built in the area."

Meanwhile, the unnamed American firm is reportedly seeking out potential sites; industrial areas on McKellar Island and Mission Island, as well as property on Fort William First Nation are among the areas the company is scoping out. Hebert says he expects the company will make its plans public two weeks after deregulation is announced.

"The original date for the market opening was November of 2000 and I guess (the American company) did some preliminary planning somewhere else in Ontario," Hebert says. "They spent close to $10 million working on some options for land and also doing some preliminary work environmental-wise and it all went for naught when the market didn't open.

The Ontario government has said the market will open in May 2002.