Hydro

WELP Connects 335-MW Hydro Expansion in British Columbia

The 335-MW Waneta expansion completed this June near Trail, British Columbia, adds a second powerhouse downstream of the Waneta Dam on the Pend-d’Oreille River, near the border between Canada and the U.S. (Figure 5).

The 335-MW Waneta expansion completed this June by WELP near Trail, British Columbia, adds a second powerhouse downstream of the Waneta Dam.
5. Second powerhouse. The Waneta Expansion Limited Partnership this June connected the Waneta Expansion Project near Trail, British Columbia, to the BC Hydro grid. Courtesy: Voith Hydro

The project is owned by the Waneta Expansion Limited Partnership (WELP)—a joint venture between Columbia Power Corp. and Columbia Basin Trust. The expansion also included construction of a 10-kilometer, 230-kV transmission line.

Completed six weeks ahead of schedule, it includes two parallel tunnels that feed the two Francis turbine units, each 167.5 MW. SNC-Lavalin acted as prime contractor on the project. Voith Hydro supplied the generators, governors, exciters, and various additional auxiliary systems of the plant’s equipment. WELP said that more than 1,400 people were employed in the five years it took to design, manufacture, build, and commission the project.

Sonal Patel is a POWER associate editor.

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