OPG enables transition to electric ferries in Kingston area

Photo: Ontario Power Generation Inc.

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has transitioned two new electric ferries that recently arrived in Quebec City and are on route to Kingston.

The Amherst Islander II and the Wolfe Islander IV eFerries, built for Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation by Damen Shipyards facilities in Romania, will be the first new hybrid electric passenger and vehicle ferries in Ontario. Once terminal infrastructure is complete, they will become the first fully electric ferries, completing their trips with onboard battery propulsion, producing zero emissions.

The ferries made their way across the Atlantic Ocean to Quebec City, where they are currently being offloaded and certified by Transport Canada to then sail up the St. Lawrence River to the Kingston area. They will arrive in Kingston later this fall.

OPG’s role is to design, build, operate and maintain the on-shore battery storage system and charging infrastructure, which will include two fast charge eFerry stations on Lake Ontario. Construction of charging infrastructure is expected to start early in 2022, and be completed in 2023.

“The clean electricity we produce, combined with our extensive experience with large infrastructure projects, position OPG well to assist in the transition toward decarbonization with tangible projects like electrification of these two ferries,” said Ken Hartwick, President and CEO, OPG. “Reducing greenhouse gas from transportation, a sector that produces about 30 per cent of Ontario’s emissions, is critical to meeting climate change goals.”