The sun is shining on Nanticoke
Posted: 13th February 2026
Ontario’s Nanticoke Generating Station on Lake Erie was once the world’s largest coal-fired power plant. The health, climate and air quality impacts of this massive polluter were felt throughout southern Ontario.
Fortunately, the coal era came to an end in Ontario in 2014 and the Nanticoke plant was demolished in 2019. In its place, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and its partners — Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation — built a large solar farm with nearly 200,000 panels.
From coal to renewable power. A remarkable turnaround.
An Even Brighter Future at Nanticoke
But Nanticoke was enormous — and that means there is still plenty of room to do more.
According to our new report, An Even Brighter Future at Nanticoke, OPG could triple the size of its Nanticoke Solar Station. By developing solar across the rest of the site, the project could supply enough additional power for another 15,300 homes.
This is shovel-ready opportunity on land that is already designated for power generation and already connected to the grid.
Clean Power When We Need It Most
The great thing about solar is that it is strongest on hot summer days when electricity demand soars to power our air-conditioners, and our polluting gas plants are running full out (burning imported American gas).
Expanding solar at Nanticoke will improve air quality and reduce climate damage — a complete reversal of the site’s polluting past.
And with Canada’s largest battery storage project just up the street in Jarvis, Ontario, this region is perfectly positioned to become a clean-energy powerhouse.
A Smarter, Lower-Cost Path Forward
Instead of wasting billions and billions of dollars building risky U.S. nuclear reactors in Ontario, we can turn to much lower-cost, off-the-shelf solutions like solar and wind to meet our electricity needs.
Zero-emission renewables, combined with storage — including stationary batteries, EV batteries, compressed air, and Hydro-Québec’s reservoirs — can form the backbone of a dynamic, high-efficiency electricity system.
This approach can meet our needs at roughly half the cost of new nuclear while helping prevent the worsening impacts of climate change.
Nanticoke can be a symbol of that future.
Take Action
Please ask Energy Minister Stephen Lecce to direct OPG to triple solar at Nanticoke.
Let’s finish the clean-energy transformation of this historic site — and make it a model for the rest of Ontario.
p.s. Please share our X tweet, our FB post, and our Bluesky post. Thanks.