Ontario's Liberal government came under fire at Queen's Park on Tuesday over an internal report that suggests an $81-million energy plant intended to power a casino in Windsor might be worthless.

The Windsor Energy Centre, a project initiated by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), might be worth at best $21 million or at worst, nothing, says a preliminary financial analysis of the asset's potential worth on the open market.

The analysis was done by consulting firm Cole Valuation Partners for the OLG and obtained by CBC News.

The provincial regulator for gambling and lotteries built the energy centre in order to ensure a reliable supply of power to the Caesars Windsor casino, which has undergone a massive expansion over the last few years.

The centre was originally to cost $40 million. Instead, $81 million in public money has been spent so far, and the plant has yet to begin generating power.

Operation of the plant has been derailed by legal wrangling between OLG and Buttcon Energy Inc., the company that designed and built the centre and was to operate it. Each side is suing the other, citing issues with, respectively, the design and the ownership of the project.

The centre's generators never came online, and the gas-fired plant draws power from Enwin, the local utility company, to heat and cool water.

"There's really no excuse for the government to allow these kinds of boondoggles to take place," said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath on Tuesday. "They have to be more concerned about the way that tax dollars are being spent in this province."

The financial report, which was sent to the OLG on Nov. 21, 2008, says the projected values are so low because the OLG miscalculated how much the centre would be able to sell its power for.

The OLG's calculations were based on the assumption that the power generated by the plant would qualify for a provincial program that would subsidize small, clean-energy generators.

But that program, the Clean Energy Standard Offer Program, was never implemented. Instead, the province passed the Green Energy Act in May.

It's now unclear whether the energy centre will ever receive a subsidy from the province.

Duncan slammed

When contacted by CBC News, both the OLG and the office of Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said they can't find the report.

"CBC reports the minister couldn't even find the valuation report," said NDP MPP Michael Prue on Tuesday.

"Why does the CBC have more information on the Windsor Energy Centre than the minister supposedly responsible for it?"

Duncan admitted there are serious issues surrounding the Energy Centre. But he said the McGuinty government won't give up on the Windsor Casino because of them and promised he would get to the bottom of the problems.

"Unlike the NDP, who voted against the initiative to create those jobs in Windsor, we are committed to ensuring the vitality and success of this enterprise," Duncan said.

Legal tit-for-tat

Meanwhile, the OLG on Tuesday launched a countersuit against Buttcon seeking $60 million.

Buttcon filed its own $355-million lawsuit against the OLG on Aug. 31 alleging breach of contract, deceit and misrepresentation and naming former OLG CEO Kelly McDougald and current OLG executive Larry Flynn.

Buttcon claims it had signed a contract to own and operate the centre for 18 to 38 years and accuses the OLG of delaying a purchase agreement.

The OLG denies Buttcon's allegations and any claims for compensation in its statement of defence and in a counterclaim filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Nov. 10.

It alleges that Buttcon breached the terms of its agreement by failing to properly design the plant, which the OLG claims cannot be safely connected to the local power grid.

The court documents also reveal that the troubled lottery agency harbours little hope of getting what it paid for without sinking more money into the plant.

"As a result of Buttcon's improper design of the energy centre, large portions of it will have to be redesigned and constructed," the OLG said in its statement.

"Equipment will need to be replaced and/or reconfigured. Even with the redesign and reconstruction work, as a result of problems created by Buttcon's design, the energy centre will be unable to operate in an efficient, cost-effective manner."

The province has hired Angus Consulting Management Ltd. to operate the plant temporarily.

The government has said it is now searching for a permanent operator, and that contract will be open to competitive bids.

With files from The Canadian Press