Churchill Falls Generating Station
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The hydropower plant Churchill Falls is an underground hydroelectric power plant in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located on the Churchill River in the region of Labrador near the 75 meter high waterfall Churchill Falls and is powered by water from the 6527 km ² large Smallwood Reservoir. The power plant generates an output of 5428 megawatts. Construction began in 1967, commissioning took place stepwise between 1971 and 1974. Owned by the Churchill Falls (Labrador ) Corporation Limited, are involved in the Nalcor Energy to 65.8 % and Hydro-Québec to 34.2 %. The operation is carried out by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, a subsidiary of Nalcor Energy.
History
Planning
The waters of the Commission of the Province of Quebec, which laid claim to Labrador, sent in 1915 to engineer Wilfred Thibaudeau to measure the Labrador plateau. Thibaudeau was impressed by the hydroelectric potential of the area and created a channel system, with which the water could be diverted before it reached the waterfall. This would remove the need for the construction of massive dams. With a ruling of the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council, the Dominion Newfoundland gained sovereignty over the disputed territory.
1949 Newfoundland became a Canadian province. Joey Smallwood, the Newfoundland Prime Minister, the project of a hydroelectric power plant spurred in the catchment area of the Churchill River. 1952 gave him the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill contacts with various companies, especially for financial institution NM Rothschild & Sons. Under the auspices of the Rothschilds, the consortium British Newfoundland Development Corporation ( Brinco ) was founded in 1953. It involved also the paper manufacturer Bowater and Anglo - Newfoundland, the industrial company English Electric and the mining company Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Frobisher. With the development of iron ore mines in western Labrador and the construction of the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway, the construction of the hydroelectric power station on the then so named Hamilton Falls had become economical.
Shawinigan Engineering, a subsidiary of the electricity supplier Shawinigan Water and Power Company ( SW & P), led by consultants from 1954 activities for Brinco. 1958 SW & P participated with 20% in the newly formed joint venture Hamilton Falls Power Corporation and invested while 2.25 million CAD. Then it was customary practice following, Brinco tried to find for the electricity to be produced before construction started buyers. However, the aluminum companies Alcan, Alcoa and British Aluminium decided against the construction of works in Labrador and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority waived the construction of a uranium enrichment plant. Also, the current export to Ontario fell out of consideration, since this province preferred the operation of nuclear power plants for cost reasons.
1963 SW & P was nationalized and went on to Hydro-Québec. The state operation of the province of Quebec also took over the 20 - percent stake in the hydroelectric project in Labrador. In 1965, the Hamilton Falls were renamed in honor of the late Winston Churchill in Churchill Falls.
Construction work
After years of planning work began on July 17, 1967 officially launched the construction work. This was due a consortium of two construction companies, the Canadian Acres and the American Bechtel Corporation. Due to the harsh climatic conditions, the construction proved to be very difficult. In addition, the area was inhospitable and far from human settlements. The power house was carved in up to 300 meters deep into the rock. At that time this was the largest construction site in North America and employed up to 6,300 workers. The construction costs amounted to 946 million CAD.
To use the case, totaling 316 meters, were built to any great Absperrbauwerke. It was only necessary to divert Churchill River with canals and dams. The 88 dams have a total length of 64 km and a maximum height of 36 m. This dam the 6527 km ² large Smallwood Reservoir, named after Joey Smallwood. The plant -actuated 6 December 1971 its first power supplies, five months and three weeks before the originally scheduled time. The last of the eleven turbines took in 1974 on their operation. As so often were the original inhabitants of Labradors, the people of the Innu rights have not been respected, and no compensation is paid. The Innu had the flooded by the reservoir area previously used for hunting and trapping.
Litigation
In the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the division of the profits of the electricity produced in power plant caused repeated for political controversy. After years of negotiations, Hydro-Québec and Brinco definitely had agreed on 12 May 1969 on the financing of the project. With the agreement, Hydro-Québec undertook during 65 years to acquire the majority of the production of the power plant for a quarter cents per kilowatt-hour ( kWh) - the exact fare is 0.25425 cents / kWh by 2016 and 0.2 cents / kWh for the remaining 25 years of the contract term - to take over as well as a portion of the interest rate risk and the debt of Brinco. In return, the company has a stake of 34.2% at the Churchill Falls (Labrador ) Corporation Limited had received.
In 1972, the Liberal Prime Minister Joey Smallwood was replaced by the Conservatives Frank Moores. The new government was not after the oil crisis of 1973 with the conditions specified in the contract agrees, since they favored too strong in their opinion, Hydro-Québec. She threatened Brinco with the expropriation and finally acquired in June 1974 for $ 160 million all not held by Hydro-Québec shares in Churchill Falls company. At the same time she took over the water rights on the Churchill River. The Government of Newfoundland then insisted on renegotiating the treaty which Hydro-Québec, however, repeatedly refused. After lengthy legal battles between the two adjacent provinces of the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed in 1984 and 1988, twice the validity of the contract. Should Hydro-Québec to pay for the electricity supplied from Churchill Falls market prices, the profits would be reduced by approximately 75 %, as the economist Claude Garcia vorrechnete.
Plant
Similar to the Niagara Falls, the water is diverted to the power plant and flows down the waterfall rarely, if flood prevails. Here is an output of 5428 MW is obtained with eleven turbines, and the power plant would be expanded to 6,300 MW. Thus, Churchill Falls to the Robert - Bourassa power plant is the second largest in Canada. The wheels of the Francis turbine are made of stainless steel and each weigh 70 tons. The power house is located in an underground cavern, which is the second largest in the world. The dimensions of the powerhouse are: 296 m × 25 m × 47 m; the height equivalent to a 15 - story high-rise. For this, 1.9 million m³ of rock were blasted out of the granite rock of the Canadian Shield. The material found in the construction of roads and dams use. The annual energy production is 35,000 GWh. The current is now also directed to Quebec and to the United States.
Currently, there are plans to expand the hydroelectric power plants on the Churchill River to a total of 9,252 MW.