Ontario families will breathe cleaner air after four additional dirty coal-fired units were permanently shut down, reducing smog-producing coal generating capacity by 40 per cent since 2003.

Today’s closing of two of eight units at Nanticoke and two of four units at the Lambton plant are part of Ontario’s plan to phase out dirty coal-fired generation by 2014 and replace it with wind, solar and other cleaner energy sources.

A coal-free Ontario will reduce air pollution and healthcare costs and is the single-largest effort to reduce climate change in Canada. Shutting down these four coal units is the equivalent of removing up to 2 million cars from Ontario’s roads.

Ontario is well on track to replace dirty coal-fired generation by adding more than 8,000 megawatts of new cleaner energy since 2003 – enough to power cities the size of Ottawa and Toronto.

As part of the Open Ontario Plan, an update to Ontario’s Long Term Energy Plan is being developed to ensure a strong, reliable, clean and cost-effective electricity system that eliminates reliance on dirty coal.