In September of 2016, the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) received a Feed-in-Tariff Power Procurement Contract from the IESO to sell power to the grid. In June 2017, the GRCA initiated a Class Environmental Assessment to evaluate the construction of a waterpower project, the Parkhill Hydro Generating Station located at the existing Parkhill Dam in the City of Cambridge. If approved and constructed, this waterpower project would have a nameplate capacity of 500 kW. The project is subject to the provisions of the Ontario Waterpower Association “Class Environmental Assessment for Waterpower Projects.” Pursuant to the Class EA, this project is considered to be associated with existing infrastructure.
The GRCA made a presentation at an Ontario Rivers Alliance Board Meeting on 21 March 2018. The following presentation provides some of the information gathered through the Class EA:
About Parkhill dam
Parkhill Dam is located in downtown Cambridge (Galt), and is one of 27 operating dams owned by the GRCA. Originally built in 1837 to create a mill pond, Parkhill Dam is a “run of the river” dam, where water flows across its surface. In 1999, the dam was identified as a strong candidate for the installation of a hydro generating station, and planning of this project began. More information can be found here.
If you would like to receive information about the Parkhill dam hydro project, or provide feedback as part of the environmental assessment process, please e-mail parkhill@grandriver.ca.