Chenaux hydro station celebrates 75 years of clean, reliable generation

At a glance

• On the Ottawa River, OPG’s Chenaux facility is marking 75 years.
• The name for the 144-megawatt, eight-unit hydro station has French roots and a local connection.
• Chenaux will soon undergo a full refurbishment to ensure many more decades of reliable, low-carbon power generation.

In eastern Ontario, OPG’s Chenaux Generating Station (GS) is celebrating 75 years of service for the province.

Situated on the Ontario-Quebec border, the 144-megawatt, eight-unit hydro station has been harnessing the waters of the Ottawa River to produce reliable, low-carbon electricity since 1950.

And soon, the facility will undergo a refurbishment to ensure it can continue to operate reliably to support Ontario’s electrification and growth for many decades to come.

Like its bigger sibling, Des Joachims GS, which sits about 96 kilometres upstream and is also marking its 75^th anniversary this year, Chenaux’s name has French roots and a local connection.

Several hundred years ago, intrepid French-Canadian voyagers making their way down the Ottawa River to the flourishing fur markets in Montreal undertook a long portage just above the swift rapids. They gave the rapids the name Chenaux, plural for “chenal” or “channel.”

Fearing the loss of their precious furs in the seething waters, they favoured the safer course offered by the rigorous trail through the wilderness. The arduous portage was called “Portage du Fort” (portage of the strong), from which a nearby village in Quebec derives its name.

About 1,100 construction workers were involved in building Chenaux GS, which includes a powerhouse flanked by a 274-metre-wide main dam. The estimated cost of the project at the time was $28 million.

Today, the run-of-river station has about 22 employees supporting it, from mechanics to project managers.

In the coming years, Chenaux will be refurbished as part of OPG’s plan to invest $1 billion over the next 20 years to refurbish eight hydro stations in eastern Ontario.

These projects will secure more than 1,600 megawatts of low-carbon power for many more decades to support Ontario’s future.