Des Joachims and Chenaux hydro stations celebrate 70 years of clean power

“This site was built with pride and, walking through the station, you can’t help but feel proud to know that this site has powered this province for seven decades,” said Mike Woodcock, Work Centre Manager at Des Joachims GS. “Through a rigorous maintenance program and the dedication of staff, the station is running well.”

During peak construction on the station, more than 3,100 workers were employed. A total of 672,848 cubic metres of concrete went into building the massive station, enough to pave a standard one metre-wide sidewalk across Canada.

Over the last 12 years, there has been a large capital investment in the station to keep it in top shape, Woodcock said. The plant has seen all of its turbines upgraded, new transformers installed, generators rewound, and all of its electrical equipment replaced.

The station is also undergoing a facelift of sorts, with a large concrete rehab project underway on its dam structure.

In addition to providing clean power throughout the years, Des Joachims GS was pivotal in providing electricity to support the early research and development of nuclear power in the Ottawa Valley.

Meanwhile, 96 kilometres downstream sits the 144 MW, eight-unit Chenaux GS.

Like Des Joachims, Chenaux’s name also has French roots.

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 the nearby village derives its name.

About 1,100 construction workers were involved in building the station, which includes a powerhouse flanked by a 274-metre-wide main dam as well as two other control dams, one of which extends to the Quebec mainland. 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. Most of the station’s auxiliary systems have been upgraded or replaced over the years to introduce newer, more efficient technologies.

In the coming years, a number of Chenaux’s sluicegates, which control water flow, will be upgraded and renovated. A complete overhaul of the plant’s units is also scheduled to begin in about 10 years.

“Chenaux has been producing green energy for the local area and the people of Ontario for a very long time,” said Chris Hamel, Work Centre Manager at Chenaux GS. “It’s a proud legacy and the station continues to operate very well.”