OPG’s Sir Adam Beck I GS now generating more clean power after historic unit replacements
At a glance
- Two all-new units now generating clean power at Sir Adam Beck I hydro station in Niagara Falls.
- First full unit replacements in the station’s 100-year history.
- All 10 Beck I units now running for the first time in 13 years.
- Modern units add about 125 megawatts of incremental capacity to station.
In Niagara Falls, OPG’s Sir Adam Beck I Generating Station (GS) is now producing more clean, climate change-fighting power for Ontario from two new units, the first full unit replacements in the station’s 100-year history.
On May 19, the plant’s new G2 unit began to send power to Ontario’s grid, and on Oct. 26, the new G1 unit was brought online. More than 300 workers helped complete the three-year project safely and below its $128-million budget.
The station’s newest units replace two historic generating units first taken out of service in 2009. These modern, larger units make more efficient use of the available water to add about 125 megawatts (MW) of incremental, flexible capacity for the province.
“With all 10 of its units running for the first time in 13 years, OPG’s flagship hydro station is set to provide decades more low-cost clean power to support Ontario’s net-zero carbon ambitions,” said Nick Pender, Vice President of Regional Operations at OPG. “The professionalism and commitment of the project team, partners, and operations in delivering this feat was impressive. Due to their efforts, we now have more clean hydro capacity in the province.”
“With all 10 of its units running for the first time in 13 years, OPG’s flagship hydro station is set to provide decades more low-cost clean power to support Ontario’s net-zero carbon ambitions.”Nick Pender, Vice President of Regional Operations
Celebrating its 100th birthday this year, Sir Adam Beck I GS was once the largest hydro plant in the world when it first went into service a century ago. The sprawling station, which took about 10,000 workers to build, set the stage for large-scale hydroelectric development in Ontario and cemented the province’s public power legacy.
Beck I’s original 40 MW G1 and G2 units operated on the now discontinued 25-hertz distribution system, providing power to steel mills in Hamilton and upstate New York. The new units operate on the modern 60-hertz standard.
Replacing the station’s last remaining legacy units was no easy feat, as the project required the full replacement of the original cast steel scrollcases – spiral-shaped tubes that funnel water into the turbine.
In first-of-its-kind work for OPG, each winding scrollcase was cut into pieces before being removed through the confined space of the turbine pit.
The same immense precision was required to install the newly fabricated scrollcases, with workers negotiating about two inches of clearance while lowering the new structure into place piece by piece.
As testament to the station’s original design and durability, the project was able to reuse the existing 100-year-old penstocks and draft tubes, with minor repairs. Penstocks, which are long pipes, bring water down the side of the Niagara escarpment to the station, while the draft tubes are fitted at the end of a turbine runner to maximize water pressure.
All of this work, along with OPG’s ongoing program to overhaul generators across its expansive hydro fleet, will help the company achieve its ambitious climate change goals.
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