Hydro One has announced its preferred route for the proposed St. Clair Transmission Line.

The route it chose, known as Route 2, will run between Hydro One’s Lambton Transformer Station, located in St. Clair Township and Chatham Switching Station, located in the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.

Eighty percent of the route uses existing transmission corridors and upgrades an existing transmission line. The route also has the least effect on the values of importance to Indigenous communities as well as to the natural environment, agricultural lands and operations. It will also involve an upgrade of the Wallaceburg Transformer Station, which will increase the transmission reliability and resiliency for the Wallaceburg area.

Once complete, the proposed St. Clair Transmission Line will enable economic growth in the area, bringing enough clean energy to the region to power a city the size of Waterloo.

"Through our engagement efforts, we heard that minimizing effects to homes, maximizing the use of existing transmission corridors, and considering effects to agricultural operations and species at risk were important. Route 2 was able to achieve all of this," said Sonny Karunakaran, Hydro One’s Director of Project Delivery.

Hydro One evaluated five route alternatives for the new transmission line by collecting environmental and technical information, and gathering input from Indigenous communities, community members, municipal staff and elected officials, government agencies, interest groups and businesses.

The Independent Electricity System Operator projects that energy demand in southwest Ontario will quadruple by 2035.

The St. Clair Transmission Line is part of a network of infrastructure projects across southwest Ontario that will unlock the electrification potential of Ontario's economy to mitigate climate change and help address this forecasted demand.

As part of the company's pathway towards Reconciliation, Hydro One says it will offer proximate First Nations impacted by the project a 50-percent equity stake in the transmission line component of the project and is committed to working to advance the project in partnership. The line is expected to be in service in 2028.