Bersimis-1 generating station
F2
The hydropower plant Bersimis -1 (French Centrale Bersimis -1 ) is a storage power plant in the Canadian province of Québec. It is located on the Rivière Betsiamites in the region Côte -Nord and is fed by the Réservoir Pipmuacan. The power plant has eight Francis turbines, the installed capacity of generators is 1178 MW at a height of 266.7 meters. Operators of the power plant is the state power company Hydro-Québec.
History
Preliminary planning
Had the economic boom of the postwar period in Québec an unforeseen increase in electricity demand shortage. Hydro-Québec sought to meet the need by all means. This happened first with the expansion of existing power plants such as Beauharnois. Also at that time still independent Shawinigan Water and Power Company ( SGP) expanded its capacities. In addition, the management tried to convince the provincial government from granting the SWP for untapped rivers water use concessions.
The SWP had thrown mainly on promising rivers in the region Côte -Nord an eye. Shawinigan Engineering, the subsidiary responsible for engineering work, had recognized in 1948 the hydropower potential and secretly performed at Rivière Betsiamites preliminary studies for a 746- MW power plant. According to the calculations, the construction work would amount to $ 168 per kW - deep enough to compensate for the additional cost of the transmission lines to the city of Montreal.
But the provincial government had other plans, forgave their water use concession in September 1951 at the state-owned enterprises Hydro-Québec. This decision of the Government Duplessis had far-reaching consequences on the future of the SGP. In 1963, the SWP was eventually taken over by Hydro-Québec. In retrospect, this decision was a pre-decisive stage in the nationalization of Quebec electricity industry. It allowed Hydro-Québec to climb to the main, if not sole owner of the hydropower plants in Quebec.
Construction work
In June 1953, the construction began, initially the necessary infrastructure had to be provided to the remote area in ever realize a project of this magnitude can. Among other things, originated in Forestville, a wharf and a warehouse on the St. Lawrence River as well as a 230 -kilometer access road into the unpopulated hinterland. All building materials, food for 5,000 workers and cement were brought by barge after Forestville, transhipped into trucks and transported to the site. The two-lane road is now integrated into the main road network in Québec and is called Route 385
Even before the work could begin on the dam and the power plant, the construction of a stable power supply was required. From November 1952 to July 1953, Hydro-Québec built a temporary 12 - MW hydroelectric power plant near the Lac Cassé. The equipment needed for this came from the small hydroelectric power plant Saint- Timothée near Montreal, which had been canceled in 1949. In June 1953, the construction of workers' housing estate Labrieville consisting of 117 homes, a school, a church, a hostel and a administrative and shopping center began. The first residents moved in on 16 November 1953, the village was completed in 1955. The technological progress made the village with the time superfluous and Hydro-Québec concluded Labrieville in 1974.
In October 1953, the actual work began on the power plant. There emerged two rockfill dams to create a reservoir, which brought the surface of lakes and Lac Lac Pipmuacan Cassé to 750 km ². The first with a length of 674 m and a height of 74 m was built between two mountains that limit the Lac Cassé. The second, 315 m long dam allowed the water level control of the Rivière Desroches. Large amounts of clay were necessary to make the core of the dams watertight. A sufficient amount had been found near the engineers of the preliminary work, it had a note of thanks to Native, the beavers when creating a Lehmvorrats for the construction of beaver dams observed. A hill between the two dams was leveled to build the spillway of the dam. 1952 Alcan had used a similar process in British Columbia during the construction of Kenney Dam.
The underground hydroelectric power plant was built twelve kilometers away from the main dam. An intake structure made of concrete with a diameter of 9.4 meters was driven into the granite of the Canadian Shield, to convey the water to the eight turbines 267 feet below. The tunnel was 223 m in the week. The Francis turbines are located in a 171 m long, 24 m wide and 21 m high cavern. The over 600 km long transmission line to Montreal is among the first in North America, which was designed for a voltage of 315 kV.
At its launch in 1956, the power plant had a capacity of 912 MW. Between 1994 and renewed in 2003, Hydro-Québec the turbines. Subsequently, a part of the Rivière Manouan has been redirected. This allowed the water flow of 30.8 m³ / s and the amount of energy produced will be increased by 378 GWh (including Bersimis -2). The 90- million dollar project involved the construction of a 9 m high and 90 m long dam, a spillway, three levees and a diversion channel.