A new 67MW unit has been placed into operation at the Little Long Generating station, part of the Lower Mattagami Project in Ontario, Canada.

Operator Ontario Power Generation (OPG) said the unit was commissioned ahead of schedule and on budget.

“This achievement is the result of OPG’s project management practices," said OPG’s President and CEO Tom Mitchell. "These include up front planning, collaborating with partners and stakeholders to address issues, and careful execution and monitoring of results."

The Lower Mattagami Project is a unique partnership between the Moose Cree First Nation and OPG – one that is creating jobs, local economic benefits through employment and the involvement of local businesses, and more clean energy, with virtually no environmental impact, said OPG.

The entire Lower Mattagami Project is tracking on schedule and on budget. By the time work is completed in 2015, the capacity of the Lower Mattagami plants will have increased to 924MW from 486MW.

At peak construction, the Lower Mattagami Project employed about 1600 workers including more than 250 First Nation and Métis individuals.

As part of the project, new units are being added at three existing generating stations. A new 267MW station is being built at Smoky Falls to replace the existing 52MW station that will be retired once the new station is operating.