Barrett Chute hydro station now halfway through major unit overhauls
At a glance
- Barrett Chute GS on the Madawaska River is undergoing major overhauls of its four generating units.
- G4 unit back in service ahead of schedule after successful refurbishment.
- 176 MW station in eastern Ontario has been producing clean power for Ontario since 1942.
On the Madawaska River in eastern Ontario, OPG’s Barrett Chute Generating Station (GS) is now halfway through a major overhaul of its generating units.
This past spring, OPG brought the hydro station’s G4 unit back into service ahead of schedule after a year-long refurbishment.
The thorough work involved an entire mechanical and electrical overhaul of the 68-megawatt (MW) unit, a stator rewind, stator core and frame replacement, and cleaning, machining, and repainting of major components, including the turbine runner.
This successful overhaul follows the refurbishment of the station’s G3 unit completed last summer. Both units were originally commissioned in 1968.
Next in line for overhauls are Barrett Chute’s two older units, G1 and G2, both commissioned in 1942 and last overhauled in the 1970s. The overall project is expected to wrap up by 2025.
“We were able to successfully complete our G4 overhaul several days ahead of schedule with the support of OPG and contractor staff.”Jeff HautanenSection Manager of Projects with OPG
This important work, along with ongoing overhauls of generating units across OPG’s hydro fleet, will help ensure many more decades of clean, reliable hydroelectric generation to support electrification and fight climate change.
“We were able to successfully complete our G4 overhaul several days ahead of schedule with the support of OPG and contractor staff,” said Jeff Hautanen, Section Manager of Projects with OPG. “The refurbished unit is now up and running, once again generating clean power for Ontario.”
“It was a big learning curve for our team as far as disassembling the G3 unit because it has never been done before,” said Jen Pulikunnel, a Section Manager who led Barrett Chute’s G3 overhaul. “There were lots of lessons learned from G3 that we were able to apply to the G4 unit. It’s been great to build up our in-house expertise in this area.”
The 176 MW Barrett Chute GS was one of a series of carefully correlated power developments constructed on the Madawaska River.
The stations along the Madawaska – Arnprior GS, Stewartville GS, Calabogie GS, Barrett Chute GS, and Mountain Chute GS – are operated in series as peaking plants, running only during periods of high electricity demand.
Barrett Chute’s first two units came into service just in time to help meet the great demands of Canada’s war efforts during the Second World War.
After the war, the station helped support the province’s economic boom, as newfound peace brought its own demands from new industries and modern appliances like television sets.
Today, as part of OPG’s diverse generating fleet, the refurbished Barrett Chute will support electrification in the coming years and help OPG achieve its ambitious climate change goals.
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