The shovels are in the ground for a new Hydro One transmission line that will significantly boost southwestern Ontario.
Ground broke on that project just south of Chatham on Monday.
The transmission line, once built, will provide clean electricity along the Chatham to Lakeshore corridor to support growth in the agri-food and manufacturing industries. It's also set to provide power for Windsor's NextStar EV Battery plant.
Hydro One President and CEO David Lebeter, was joined by Minister of Energy Todd Smith, First Nation leaders, and several local municipal and agricultural leaders on Monday to celebrate the start of construction on the $268 million investment.
"With our strong history in building new transmission lines, we're focused on creating a new electricity network in the southwest that will bring a cascade of benefits, including more jobs and economic growth, as well as equity investment opportunities for local First Nations that will generate revenues for generations to come," said David Lebeter, President and CEO, Hydro One.
Lebeter added that this critical work is part of their commitment to build faster and more innovatively to help power up growth across Southwest Ontario while ensuring access to clean, reliable and inexpensive electricity for decades. The line will add approximately 400 megawatts of clean electricity to the region.
After several conversations and negotiations, all 119 private landlords in Chatham and Lakeshore have agreed to the infrastructure layout, considering environmental and social factors. Lebeter told CK News Today Ontario is 90% non-carbanion energy and one of North America's cleanest grids.
Hydro One is committed to sourcing five percent of all purchases of materials and services from Indigenous businesses by 2026 and offered a 50 percent equity stake in the transmission line component of the project.
The project is set to be in service by the end of 2025.