Ontario Power Generation is setting an ambitious climate change goal, although the path to achieving the objective remains unclear at the moment.

The company, whose sole shareholder is the government of Ontario, announced Thursday that it intends to become carbon neutral on a net-zero basis by 2040. The goal puts the company ahead of Canada's 2050 timetable for the same objective, and among the leading companies in the sector on long-term environmental goals.

"2040, 2050 seems like a long way away, but you have to put down some markers for what you want to achieve," said OPG CEO Ken Hartwick. He also acknowledged that the company doesn't quite know how it will achieve the objective, but setting the goal and working toward it marked an important first step. "We don't have every answer to get there, and that's an important element to know."

He added, "Our plan aims to address climate change in a way that will help create new jobs, nurture new industries that protect the environment and make our economy stronger for current and future generations. We hope to make our province proud as we bring our made-in-Ontario experience, our ingenuity and our commitment to the world."

Energy Minister Greg Rickford shared his support for the objective. "For decades, OPG has led the way with real action to support Ontario’s climate change efforts and our government is proud to continue that work alongside OPG as we meet the commitments in our Made-in-Ontario Environment plan," he stated.

Environment Minister Jeff Yurek added his support. "OPG is taking the right steps towards reducing the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change and helping Ontario meet its reduction target."

OPG has achieved significant greenhouse gas emissions savings in the past. The provincial government phasing out coal from its energy mix, a long-standing project that took a dozen years, achieved meaningful progress. But the remaining work to do will likely have to come from achieving smaller increments from many different projects and policy initiatives.

Among the possibilities to meet the objective are building out small modular nuclear reactors, increasing electrification, exploring energy storage solutions and refurbishing hydroelectric stations. On the latter item, more than half of Ontario's 66 hydro stations are more than 80 years old.

They are give varying ranges for how many greenhouse gases the initiatives could save — SMRs are on this higher end, but they're also a technology that hasn't been rolled out yet, with OPG hoping for the first one as soon as 2028.

OPG also acknowledged that as nuclear reactors go off-line for refurbishment and could see natural gas as a replacement there is a strong likelihood there will be an increase in GHGs in the mid- to late-2020s.

The company did not set interim goals for its plan.

It comes at a time when the provincial government is facing heat over its climate change plan. Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk's environment report last week raised the alarm that the government is not on track to meet its climate change goals. It marked the second consecutive year that she detailed shortcomings in the government's strategy, which in 2019 included double-counting some savings and a lack of evidence for some projected savings. Environment Minister Jeff Yurek promised at the time that the government would re-visit the plan, referring to it as a "living document." Last week he indicated that a revamped plan can be expected in the coming weeks.

OPG unveils net-zero emissions goal for 2040

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