OPG’s Sir Adam Beck I hydro station gets major delivery for unit refurbishment

At a glance

• OPG’s flagship Sir Adam Beck I Generating Station just received its first major component for the plant’s G4 refurbishment.
• The new runner and shaft assembly will provide an additional 3.5 megawatts of energy from the refurbished unit.
• To prepare for installation, workers completed tilting the massive component into place.

OPG’s Sir Adam Beck I Generating Station (GS) in Niagara just got a big delivery for its future.

The historic, 104-year-old station recently received a new runner and shaft assembly, the first major component to arrive on site for the station’s G4 refurbishment.

The new runner, a critical component that helps convert the energy of flowing water into electrical energy, will provide an additional 3.5 megawatts (MW) in output from the unit.

Combined, the runner and its shaft assembly weigh about 94,000 pounds.

To prepare for the component’s installation in a few weeks, a major lift took place at the station, as an overhead crane was used to tip the massive assembly into a vertical position.

Beck I GS’s G4 refurbishment is the first of several units set to be refurbished across OPG’s Niagara hydro fleet. The overall program will last more than 15 years and see up to 19 units in total at the Sir Adam Beck I and II stations refurbished, increasing the plants’ generating capacity by 36 MW, or enough to power about 50,000 homes.

As the cradle of Ontario’s clean electricity system, Niagara Falls has played an important role in powering the province and its growth, starting from incandescent light bulbs to major industrial machinery.

Today, OPG’s Niagara Operations encompass five hydro facilities, including the Sir Adam Beck I and II GS, Sir Adam Beck Pump GS, and DeCew I and II GS. Each year, these plants meet about 10% of Ontario’s energy needs.