- Lower Churchill Project
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The Lower Churchill Project is a planned hydroelectric project in Labrador, Canada, to develop the remaining 35 per cent of the Churchill River that has not already been developed by the Churchill Falls Generating Station. The Lower Churchill's two installations at Gull Island and Muskrat Falls will have a combined capacity of over 3,074 MW and be able to provide 16.7 Terawatt hours of electricity per year.[1][2]
Contents
Overview
Further development of the Churchill River in central Labrador was planned for after the Churchill Falls Generating Station opened in 1972. However, the government of Québec refused to allow exports of electricity through its territory. The Lower Churchill Project passed an environmental assessment in 1980, but the project was postponed indefinitely due to concerns over market access to Hydro-Québec's electricity transmission system and financing.
According to former Premier Brian Tobin, as Labrador borders Québec, when an agreement was being negotiated to sell the power generated at Churchill Falls, the power either had to be sold to an entity within Québec or it had to pass through Québec. The government of Québec refused to allow power to be transferred through Québec and would only accept a contract in which the power was sold to Québec.[3] Because of this monopsony situation, Hydro-Québec received very favourable terms on the power sale contract. The contract was negotiated to run for a 65-year timespan, running until the year 2041, and according to former Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams, Hydro-Québec reaps profits from the Upper Churchill contract of approximately $1.7 billion per year, while Newfoundland and Labrador receives $63 million a year.[4]
According to long-time Hydro-Québec critic Claude Garcia, former president of Standard Life (Canada) and author of a recent assessment of the utility commissioned by the Montreal Economic Institute, if Hydro-Québec had to pay market prices for the low-cost power it got from the Churchill Falls project in Labrador, the 2007 profit would be an estimated 75 per cent lower.[5]
According to the government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Hydro-Québec has reaped more than $19 billion in profits while Newfoundland has received only $1 billion in revenues from the Churchill Falls project. Québec refused to renegotiate the project, which doesn’t expire until 2041.[6] Due to the coercion involved in that deal, Newfoundland and Labrador has sought an alternate route for the Lower Churchill Project that bypasses Québec.[7]
A $6.2 billion deal between Newfoundland and Labrador’s Nalcor Energy and Halifax-based Emera was announced on November 18, 2010.[8] Nalcor Energy will spend $2.9 billion to build a power generating facility at Muskrat Falls, while Emera will invest $1.2-billion in the Maritime Transmission Link underwater power connection and $600 million in the Muskrat Falls facility in exchange for 20% of the 800-megawatts of capacity.
Construction of the first phase (Muskrat Falls Generating Facility, Labrador-Island Transmission Link and Maritime Transmission Link) is expected to be completed by the end of 2015, while the second phase (Gull Island Generating Facility) will not proceed until electricity demand strengthens.
Benefits
The project is expected to provide a long-term, sustainable, and renewable energy supply that will enable rate stability and energy security for the province, leading to increased economic growth. It will also enable the retirement of the inefficient Holyrood Thermal Generating Station, which will address air quality issues from burning fuel oil for electricity generation.
With the completion of Phase 1, Newfoundland and Labrador will have an electricity system that will be over 98% carbon free. The development of Muskrat Falls will avoid approximately 96 million tonnes of emissions by 2065, a significant number for a small province.[9]
Phase 1
Muskrat Falls Generating Facility
Muskrat Falls Location Canada
Newfoundland and LabradorCoordinates 53°14′44.3″N 60°46′22″W / 53.245639°N 60.77278°WCoordinates: 53°14′44.3″N 60°46′22″W / 53.245639°N 60.77278°W Construction began 2001 Construction cost C$2.9 billion Owner(s) Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro Dam and spillways Impounds Churchill River Reservoir Surface area 41 km2 Power station Turbines 4 x Kaplan turbines Installed capacity 824 MW The Muskrat Falls Generating Facility 53°14′44″N 60°46′17″W / 53.24556°N 60.77139°W will consist of a generation station with a capacity of 824 MW and a powerhouse which will contain four Kaplan turbines. The concrete dam will be built in two sections (on the north and south abutments of the river): the north dam will be 32 m high and 432 m long and the south dam will be 29 m high and 325 m long. The reservoir will be 59 km long with an area of 101 km2. The area of inundated land will be 41 km2 at full supply level. Two 230kV AC transmission lines will connect with the Labrador-Island Transmission Link.
The Muskrat Falls development of the Lower Churchill Project will begin in 2011 and is expected to take approximately six years.[10]
Labrador-Island Transmission Link
Emera and Nalcor will form a joint venture to construct transmission facilities from Labrador to Newfoundland at a cost of $2.1 billion.
The Labrador-Island Transmission Link will be a 800MW 1,200 KM High-voltage direct current (HVDC) system[11] from Gull Island in central Labrador to an area near Soldiers Pond on the Avalon Peninsula. This work will result in at least one million person hours of engineering and project management employment and 2.5 million person hours of construction employment in the province.
Key components include:
- 230kV AC to 450kV DC Converter station at Gull Island 52°58′28.6″N 61°23′43.1″W / 52.974611°N 61.395306°W
- An overhead HVDC transmission line from Gull Island to the Strait of Belle Isle
- Cable crossing of the Strait of Belle Isle with associated infrastructure
- An overhead HVDC transmission line from the Strait of Belle Isle to the Avalon Peninsula
- 450kV DC to 230Kv AC Converter station at Soldiers Pond 47°25′01.2″N 52°58′38.8″W / 47.417°N 52.977444°W
Construction of the Labrador-Island Transmission Link would take four years, followed by a year long commissioning project.
Maritime Transmission Link
Emera will construct and own a $1.2-billion underwater power connection from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia, to be known as the Maritime Transmission Link. This will enable future electricity exports to the Maritime provinces and the United States.
Major components include:
- Overhead high-voltage AC transmission lines connecting the Newfoundland Island transmission grid to Bottom Brook Converter Station
- Bottom Brook Converter Station (500 MW) AC to HVDC
- Overhead HVDC transmission lines from Bottom Brook to Cape Ray
- Submarine cables across the Cabot Strait to Lingan, Nova Scotia (180 km)
- Cape Breton Converter Station (500 MW) HVDC to AC, tying into the existing Nova Scotia transmission grid
Transmission Lines
The transmission lines are designed to be:
- 203 km long for the 735 kilovolt (kV) line between Gull Island and Churchill Falls; and
- 60 km long for the double-circuit 230 kV line between Muskrat Falls and Gull Island.
Both transmission lines will be supported by lattice-type steel structures and located north of the Churchill River, requiring a cleared right of way approximately 80 m wide in addition to the existing right of way.
Phase 2
Gull Island
The Gull Island facility will consist of a generation station with a capacity of 2,250 MW and the powerhouse will contain five Francis turbines. The dam will be a concrete-faced, rock-fill construction 99 m high and 1,315 m long establishing a 213 km2 reservoir with a full supply level of 125 m above sea level. The reservoir will be 232 km long and the incremental area of inundated land will be 85 km2 at full supply level.
See also
- Churchill Falls Generating Station
- Hydro-Québec's electricity transmission system
- High Voltage DC
- List of HVDC projects
References
- ^ "Nalcor Energy Website". http://www.nalcorenergy.com/content.asp?page=317. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
- ^ "Lower Churchill Project Website". http://www.lowerchurchillproject.ca/LCWeb/LowerChurchill.nsf/GeneralDocs/A6496EB6D3B13269A32571FD0066CC71?OpenDocument&menucat=About&submenucat=&linkname=Lower%20Churchill%20Project. Retrieved 2009-10-05.[dead link]
- ^ "Speaking notes from an address by Brian Tobin". Premier's Address on Churchill Falls to the Empire Club, Toronto (Government of Newfoundland and Labrador). November 19, 1996. http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/1996/exec/1119n06.htm. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
- ^ Moore, Lynn (November 30, 2009). "Newfoundland challenges Churchill Falls hydro deal with Quebec". Canwest News Service (Montreal Gazette). http://www.canada.com/Newfoundland+challenges+Churchill+Falls+hydro+deal+with+Quebec/2286897/story.html. Retrieved 2009-12-01.[dead link]
- ^ Baril, Hélène (4 February 2009). "Privatisation d'Hydro-Québec: Claude Garcia s'explique" (in French). La Presse (Montreal). http://lapresseaffaires.cyberpresse.ca/economie/energie-et-ressources/200902/04/01-823900-privatisation-dhydro-quebec-claude-garcia-sexplique.php. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ Bailey, Sue (18 November 2010). "$6.2B deal reached for Lower Churchill power project". The Star (Toronto). http://www.thestar.com/business/article/892746--6-2b-deal-reached-for-lower-churchill-power-project.
- ^ http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=17f52755-7ede-45a5-8b2f-6a8b7d004957
- ^ McCarthy, Shawn (18 November 2010). "Churchill hydro deal signals era of Atlantic co-operation - The Globe and Mail". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/atlantic-canada-power-deal-reshapes-market/article1804039/.
- ^ http://www.nalcorenergy.com/assets/lcp%20background%20information%20november%2018%202010.pdf
- ^ http://www.nalcorenergy.com/assets/lcp%20background%20information%20november%2018%202010.pdf
- ^ http://www2.mpmo-bggp.gc.ca/MPTracker/projectsummary-resumedeprojet.aspx?pid=94
Categories:- Churchill Falls
- Hydroelectric power stations in Newfoundland and Labrador
- Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro
- HVDC transmission lines
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