Opening date 1954 Hydraulic head 790 M Create Nechako Reservoir Turbine 8 | Creates Nechako Reservoir Turbines 8 Operator Rio Tinto Alcan | |
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Location Kemano, British Columbia, Canada Total capacity 32.7 km (26,500,000 acre·ft) | ||
The Kemano Generating Station is situated 75 km (47 mi) southeast of Kitimat in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was completed in 1954, providing hydroelectricity for Alcan's Kitimat Aluminum smelter. The powerhouse is built in a cavern created 427 m (1,400 ft) inside the base of Mt Dubose. It produces 896 MW of power from its eight generator units, each of which has a capacity of 112MW. It was the largest producer in the province when it was built, and is now the fifth largest electrical plant in British Columbia.
The Kemano I project was made possible by constructing the largest rockfill dam in the world at the time, the Kenney Dam on the east side of the Nechako reservoir. On the west side of the Nechako reservoir, a 16-kilometre (9.9 mi) long water intake tunnel running through the Coast Mountain range diverts river water to penstocks for a huge 2,600-foot (790 m) vertical drop to the power station at the former company town of Kemano, BC. In 1995, the provincial government cancelled the Kemano Completion Project (Kemano II) that Alcan had been planning since 1987. In 2007 Alcan Inc. was renamed Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.
The smelter at Kitimat consumes about 80-85% of the plant's electricity, the balance is sold to BC Hydro's Powerex.