Manic-5 hydropower plant
| Manic-5 hydropower plant | |||
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| location | |||
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| Coordinates | 50 ° 38 '23 " N , 68 ° 43' 37" W | ||
| country | Canada | ||
| Waters |
Rivière Manicouagan ( Manicouagan Reservoir ) |
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| Data | |||
| Type | Storage power plant | ||
| Primary energy | Hydropower | ||
| power | Manic-5: 1596 MW Manic-5-PA 1064 MW |
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| owner | Hydro Quebec | ||
| Project start | 1959 | ||
| Start of operations | Manic-5: 1970-1971 Manic-5-PA: 1989-1990 |
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The hydropower plant Manic-5 ( French Centrale Manic-5 ) is a storage power plant in the Canadian province of Québec . It is located in the Côte-Nord region on the Rivière Manicouagan , around 220 kilometers north of the city of Baie-Comeau . The associated Daniel-Johnson dam (Barrage Daniel-Johnson), built between 1959 and 1968, is the highest pier dam in the world with a height of 214 meters and a crown length of 1314 meters . The Manic-5 power plant , which went into operation in 1970, has an output of 1596 MW , the neighboring Manic-5-PA hydropower plant with an output of 1064 MW was commissioned in 1989. The operator of both power plants is the state-owned energy supply company Hydro-Québec .
history
Preliminary examinations and planning
During the summer of 1919 and 1920 , hydrological surveys were carried out on the Manicouagan and Outardes rivers , which flow into the confluence of the Saint Lawrence River in the vicinity of Baie-Comeau . The amount of runoff was estimated at 40 million km², synonymous with one of the most water-rich river systems in Canada. Although the exploitation of this hydropower potential appeared interesting, the great distance to important sales markets and the lack of roads were viewed as significant obstacles. In addition, building dams in unspoilt areas was considered too expensive.
After the Second World War , the discovery of large iron ore deposits on the Côte-Nord and the growing forestry use of the forests led to rapid development in the region. The largest towns in the region, Sept-Îles and Baie-Comeau, were connected to the rest of the province by a road. At the same time, industrial development in southern Québec resulted in a greater demand for electricity. Advances in electrical engineering, such as the construction of two 315 kV overhead lines between the power plants on Rivière Betsiamites and Montreal, made the construction of large hydropower plants more economical.
In 1955 Hydro-Québec began a five-year evaluation of the suitability of the Rivière Manicouagan. These studies confirmed the river's exceptional hydropower potential and concluded that a system of multiple dams could best take advantage of the terrain and water flow. The data collected at the time were so positive that Hydro-Québec did not even wait for the working group's final report. In 1959 the decision was made to build a dam and a 210-kilometer access road from Baie-Comeau. The original “Manic Outardes Project” saw the construction of five dams on Manicouagan ( Manic-1 , Manic-2 , Manic-3 , Manic-4 and Manic-5) and three dams on Rivière aux Outardes ( Outardes-2 , Outardes-3 and Outardes-4 ). However, a miscalculation prevented the construction of Manic-4; the engineers recognized early on that this sub-project would have negative effects on Manic-3.
In 1959, Maurice Duplessis , the then Prime Minister of Québec, wanted to award the construction contract to an American company. But Daniel Johnson , the then Minister for Water Resources, rejected the proposal. Johnson believed that Canadian companies and workers were perfectly capable of implementing a complex project of this size. Duplessis' successor Paul Sauvé agreed with Johnson and initiated the appropriate measures. Finally, the engineers agreed that the design of a multiple arch dam by André Coyne was the most suitable and economical.
Construction work
In August 1959 work began on setting up the site, and in the following year the construction of the diversion tunnels and the preparation of the foundations. In order to divert the Rivière Manicouagan, the workers blasted and dug two tunnels with a length of 610 meters and a diameter of 14 meters through the west wall of the gorge. Drilling platforms were used and the drive was 4.3 meters per work shift. To make the diversion of the river easier, two cofferdams were built . The first blocked the river and forced it into the tunnels, the second stood downstream and prevented the water from flowing back onto the construction site. Both cofferdams stood on loose alluvial soil , so that they had to be made watertight with sealing veils and pile foundations . As soon as the water on the construction site was pumped out, a long trench was dug between the cofferdams, which was 46 meters deep in the middle. This trench was filled with concrete in the summer of 1962. To prevent water seeping into the foundation of the dam, a sealing curtain was injected into the rocky subsoil and a drainage system with a tunnel of 730 meters in length was built.
After completing the extensive preparatory work, concrete was mixed for the first time on October 3, 1962 for the actual dam. Mixing took place day and night, but had to be interrupted in winter because of the cold temperatures. To better organize the concrete mixing, the dam was divided into 14 meter wide sections and each section was raised by 1.5 to 2 meters. The workers had 150 days to build the dam at least 76 meters high before the snowmelt. Three cable cars transported the fresh concrete to the workplaces. The dam was finally completed in 1968.
Initiation and naming
On September 26, 1968, Hydro-Québec organized a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the dam. Hundreds of invited guests were flown here from Montreal, Québec and New York to attend a banquet. Guests included Prime Minister Daniel Johnson , his predecessor Jean Lesage and René Lévesque , Minister of Resources responsible for the nationalization of Quebec's electricity industry. Feeling weak, Johnson went to sleep and died of a myocardial infarction in his sleep , as a result of which the scheduled ceremony was immediately canceled. Exactly one year after Johnson's death, on September 26, 1969, the new Prime Minister Jean-Jacques Bertrand unveiled two memorial plaques in the presence of Johnson's widow and children. He renamed the dam in honor of his predecessor.
Investments
The Daniel-Johnson-Barrage (Barrage Daniel-Johnson) is 1314 meters long and with a height of 214 meters the world's highest pier dam . Its exact design is that of a multiple arch dam. Of the 14 buttresses , the two that form the central arch are 160 meters apart at their base, and the remaining 76 meters. At its thickest point, the dam is 21.5 meters wide, while the top of the wall is three meters wide. The water pressure behind the dam is transferred from the arches to the buttresses and ultimately to the ground or foundation. The dam was made of high-quality concrete that can withstand the constant thawing and freezing that is typical for this area. For further stabilization, reinforcement bars were also incorporated and the upstream side of the dam was coated with asphalt .
The energy generated by the dam drives two hydropower plants that are located behind the dam on both sides of the Rivière Manicouagan. The Manic-5 power plant on the right bank was commissioned in 1970/71 and has eight Francis turbines . With a drop height of 141.8 meters, the generators produce an output of 1596 MW . The Manic-5-PA power plant with four additional Francis turbines has been in operation on the opposite bank of the river since 1989/90. The generators deliver an output of 1064 MW at a drop height of 144.8 meters.
Web links
- Visitor information (French)
Manic-5 hydropower plant as a 3D model in SketchUp's 3D warehouse
literature
- André Bolduc, Clarence Hogue, Daniel Larouche: Hydro-Québec: l'héritage d'un siècle d'électricité . Libre Expression, Montreal 1989, ISBN 2-89111-388-8 .
- Paul Paradis: Manic Outardes . Hydro-Québec, Montreal 1967.
- André Bolduc: You génie au pouvoir: Robert A. Boyd, à la gouverne d'Hydro-Québec aux years glorieuses . Libre Expression, Montreal 2000, ISBN 2-89111-829-4 .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Robert Dion, Jacques Lambert, Marcel Corbeau, Félicien Gagnon, Armor Landry, Jean Desraspes: Manicouagan . Ed .: Hydro-Québec. Imprimerie Pierre Desmarais, Montreal 1964.
- ↑ Bolduc, Hogue, Larouche: Hydro-Québec: l'héritage d'un siècle d'électricité. Pp. 137-139.
- ^ Daniel Johnson, premier ministre du Québec de 1966 à 1968. (PDF, 120 KB) Commission de la capitale nationale du Québec, 2003, accessed on March 27, 2012 (French).
- ^ Under the influence - 60 most influential people in the industry. (No longer available online.) International Water Power and Dam Construction Magazine, October 6, 2009, archived from the original on June 14, 2011 ; accessed on March 27, 2012 (English).
- ↑ a b John C. Rehfield: Caging a River to Build a Skyscraper dam . In: Popular Science , February 1965 edition.
- ↑ Paradis: Manic-Outardes. Pp. 21-22.
- ↑ Paradis: Manic-Outardes. P. 24.
- ↑ Paradis: Manic-Outardes. Pp. 16-17.
- ↑ Bolduc, Hogue, Larouche: Hydro-Québec: l'héritage d'un siècle d'électricité. P. 206.
- ^ Bolduc: You génie au pouvoir. Pp. 99-100.
- ↑ Paradis: Manic-Outardes. P. 16.
- ↑ Paradis: Manic-Outardes. P. 19.
- ↑ Centrales hydroélectriques. Hydro-Québec, accessed March 27, 2012 (French).