Seven Sisters Generating Station

Last updated
Seven Sisters Generating Station
Seven Sisters Generating Station.jpg
The Seven Sisters Generating Station, from the downstream side.
Canada Manitoba relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of Seven Sisters Generating Station in Manitoba
Country Canada
Locationnear Seven Sisters Falls, Manitoba
Coordinates 50°7′13″N96°0′44″W / 50.12028°N 96.01222°W / 50.12028; -96.01222 Coordinates: 50°7′13″N96°0′44″W / 50.12028°N 96.01222°W / 50.12028; -96.01222
StatusOperational
Construction began1929
Opening date1952
Owner(s) Manitoba Hydro
Dam and spillways
Impounds Winnipeg River
Length128 metres (420 ft)
Spillways 2
Reservoir
CreatesNatalie Lake
Power Station
Type Conventional
Installed capacity 165 megawatts
Annual generation 990 million kilowatt-hours
Website
Manitoba Hydro

The Seven Sisters Generating Station is a hydroelectric generating station located on the Winnipeg River, in eastern Manitoba near Seven Sisters Falls, Manitoba. The reservoir is called Natalie Lake and is used for recreational boating and fishing.

Contents

The present capacity of the generating station is 165 megawatts, and in a typical year the station can produce 990 million kilowatt-hours. It is the largest generating station on the Winnipeg River. Power is transmitted over five 115 kV lines to Winnipeg, and sixth and seventh lines to the Whiteshell and on to Kenora, Ontario. [1]

The powerhouse is 128 metres long. The total discharge of water from the station is 1,146 cubic metres per second, with a total drop from forebay to tailrace of 18.6 metres. The station has a 225 metre-long spillway. The forebay nominal elevation is 274.2 metres AMSL and the forebay area is 21 square kilometres. The forebay is retained by more than 12 km of dykes. [1]

History

Construction of the station by the Winnipeg Electric Company (now a part of Manitoba Hydro) started in 1929, with first power in 1931, producing 75 megawatts from three vertical turbine-generator units. The second stage of construction began in 1948, when the last three units were installed. The last units were installed in 1952.

When first constructed, operating staff lived in the townsite (Seven Sisters, Manitoba), but the plant was automated in the 1970s and put under remote control, requiring a much smaller on-site staff.

See also

Related Research Articles

Itaipu Dam Dam along the Brazil–Paraguay border

The Itaipu Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The construction of the dam was first contested by Argentina, but the negotiations and resolution of the dispute ended up setting the basis for Argentine–Brazilian integration later on.

Hydroelectricity Electricity generated by hydropower

Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity produced from hydropower. In 2015, hydropower generated 16.6% of the world's total electricity and 70% of all renewable electricity, and was expected to increase by about 3.1% each year for the next 25 years.

Eildon Dam Dam in Victorian Alps, Victoria

The Eildon Dam or Eildon Weir, a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with a controlled spillway across the Goulburn River, is located between the regional towns of Mansfield and Eildon within Lake Eildon National Park, in the Alpine region of Victoria, Australia. The dam's purpose is for the supply of potable water, irrigation, and the generation of hydroelectricity. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Eildon.

Nelson River DC Transmission System

The Nelson River DC Transmission System, also known as the Manitoba Bipole, is an electric power transmission system of two high voltage, direct current lines in Manitoba, Canada, operated by Manitoba Hydro as part of the Nelson River Hydroelectric Project. It is now recorded on the list of IEEE Milestones in electrical engineering. Several records have been broken by successive phases of the project, including the largest mercury-arc valves, the highest DC transmission voltage and the first use of water-cooled thyristor valves in HVDC.

Manitoba Hydro Electric power and natural gas utility company in Manitoba, Canada

The Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board, operating as Manitoba Hydro, is the electric power and natural gas utility in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1961, it is a provincial Crown Corporation, governed by the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board and the Manitoba Hydro Act. Today the company operates 15 interconnected generating stations. It has more than 527,000 electric power customers and more than 263,000 natural gas customers. Since most of the electrical energy is provided by hydroelectric power, the utility has low electricity rates. Stations in Northern Manitoba are connected by a HVDC system, the Nelson River Bipole, to customers in the south. The internal staff are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 998 while the outside workers are members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2034.

Electricity sector in Canada Canada electricity sector

The electricity sector in Canada has played a significant role in the economic and political life of the country since the late 19th century. The sector is organized along provincial and territorial lines. In a majority of provinces, large government-owned integrated public utilities play a leading role in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. Ontario and Alberta have created electricity markets in the last decade in order to increase investment and competition in this sector of the economy.

Robert-Bourassa generating station Hydroelectric power station in Québec, Canada

The Robert-Bourassa generating station, formerly known as La Grande-2, is a hydroelectric power station on the La Grande River that is part of Hydro-Québec's James Bay Project in Canada. The station can generate 5,616 MW and its 16 units were gradually commissioned between 1979 and 1981. Annual generation is in the vicinity of 26500 GWh.

Guthega Power Station Dam in Snowy Mountains, New South Wales

Guthega Power Station is located in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The power station's purpose is for the generation of electricity. It is the first to be completed and smallest of the initial seven hydroelectric power stations that comprise the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a vast hydroelectricity and irrigation complex constructed in south-east Australia between 1949 and 1974 and now run by Snowy Hydro.

Tumut Hydroelectric Power Station Series of 3 Hydroelectric Power Station on the Tumut River in The Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia

Tumut Hydroelectric Power Station is a series of three of the original four, now five hydroelectric power stations on the Tumut River in New South Wales, Australia, that are part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

Rubicon Hydroelectric Scheme dam in Victoria, Australia

The Rubicon Hydroelectric Scheme is a small run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme located on the Rubicon and Royston Rivers, north east of Melbourne, 40 km (25 mi) south-west of Alexandra, Victoria, Australia. The scheme commenced in 1922, and was the first state-owned hydroelectric scheme to generate electricity in mainland Australia, and among the first in the world to be remotely controlled. For the first ten years of its operation it supplied on average 16.9% of electricity generated by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria. It is now owned and operated by AGL Energy and contributes approximately 0.02% of Victoria's energy supply.

Nelson River Hydroelectric Project

The Nelson River Hydroelectric Project refers to the construction of a series of dams and hydroelectric power plants on the Nelson River in Northern Manitoba, Canada. The project began to take shape in the late 1950s, with the planning and construction of the Kelsey dam and hydroelectric power station, and later was expanded to include the diversion of the upper Churchill River into the Nelson River and the transformation of Lake Winnipeg, the world's 11th largest freshwater lake, into a hydroelectric reservoir. The project is owned and operated by Manitoba Hydro, the electrical utility in the province.

Winnipeg Hydro Former hydro generation and distribution company in Winnipeg, Canada

Winnipeg Hydro is a former provider of electrical power for the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Winnipeg Hydro was established in 1906 as City Hydro. It was purchased by Manitoba Hydro in 2002.

Caruachi Dam Dam in Bolívar, Venezuela

The Caruachi Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Caroní River in Bolivar state, Venezuela. The dam supports a hydroelectric power facility with a 2,160 megawatts (2,900,000 hp) capacity. The facility is located about 59 kilometres (37 mi) downstream from the Guri Dam belonging to the "Central Hidroeléctrica Simón Bolívar" and about 35 kilometres (22 mi) from where the Caroni and Orinoco rivers meet at Ciudad Guayana.

According to the International Hydropower Association, Canada is the world's fourth largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world in 2020 after the United States, Brazil, and China. In 2014, Canada consumed the equivalent of 85.7 megatonnes worth of oil of hydroelectricity, 9.8% of worldwide hydroelectric consumption. Furthermore, hydroelectricity accounted for 25.7% of Canada's total energy consumption. It is the third-most consumed energy in Canada behind oil and natural gas.

Great Falls Dam (Manitoba) Dam in Rural Municipality of Alexander

Great Falls Generating Station is a hydroelectric dam on the Winnipeg River approximately 130 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg in the Rural Municipality of Alexander in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

St. Leon Wind Farm

St. Leon Wind Farm is Manitoba's first wind farm, in St. Leon, Manitoba, Canada. In the first phase completed in 2006, 63 wind turbines were erected over a 93-square-kilometre (36 sq mi) area, capable of delivering 99 megawatts (MW). In 2011 a further 10 turbines were purchased, expanding the capacity of the project to 120 megawatts.

Long Spruce Generating Station

Long Spruce Generating Station is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric dam on the Nelson River approximately 745 kilometres (463 mi) northeast of Winnipeg in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

Limestone Generating Station Dam in Gillam, Manitoba

Limestone Generating Station is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric dam on the Nelson River approximately 750 kilometres (470 mi) north of Winnipeg near Gillam, Manitoba. Part of the Nelson River Hydroelectric Project, Limestone was Manitoba Hydro's fifth and largest generating station to be built on the Nelson River. The station was built on the Nelson River at Long Spruce Rapids. The site is approximately 23 kilometres (14 mi) downstream of Manitoba Hydro's Long Spruce Generating Station.

Kettle Generating Station Dam in Gillam

The Kettle Generating Station, also known as Kettle Rapids Generating Station, is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station on the Lower Nelson River in Manitoba, Canada. It is located 6 km (4 mi) northwest of Gillam. As part of the Nelson River Hydroelectric Project, the power station was completed in 1973 and the last generator commissioned in 1974. It has an installed capacity of 1,220 megawatts (1,640,000 hp) and is the second largest power station in Manitoba.

References

  1. 1 2 "Generating stations". www.hydro.mb.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-08.