BC Hydro has completed the refurbishment of a 700-MW hydropower plant on British Columbia’s Peace River.
Work on the C$120 million refurbishment project began in May 2006 and was completed on time and about C$6 million under budget, the company said. The facility generates enough power for 300,000 Canadian homes.
“This is a major investment in a heritage asset and in our province’s clean energy future,” said Blair Lekstrom, minister of energy, mines and petroleum resources. “Extending the life of this heritage asset is a cost-effective way of helping British Columbia achieve our Energy Plan goal of becoming electricity self-sufficient by 2016.”
The project called for replacing the stators, upgrading the rotors, and overhauling the turbines.
“We are very proud of this achievement,” said Bob Elton, president and chief executive officer of BC Hydro. “It’s a great success on all fronts.”
The Peace Canyon facility began generating power in April 1980. The dam, which created the Dinosaur Reservoir, is about 14 miles downstream from BC Hydro’s GM Shrum Generation Station.
