Manic-1 is a

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

and

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

at the mouth of the

Manicouagan River The Manicouagan or Manicuagan River, often clipped to Manic, is a river in Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. The river originates in the Manicouagan Reservoir and flows approximately south, emptying into the Saint Lawrence River near Baie-Com ...

west of

Baie-Comeau Baie-Comeau (; 2021 city population 20,687; CA population 26,643) is a city located approximately north-east of Quebec City in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the shores of the Saint Lawrence River nea ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. The power station was commissioned between 1966 and 1967 and producing 184 MW, it is the smallest of the Manicouagan-Outardes project.

History

Between 1949 and 1956, to keep up with increasing electricity demands, the Manicouagan Power Company constructed and upgraded a 126 MW hydroelectric power station on the falls of the Manicouagan River' mouth. Electricity demand continued to rise with the construction of local

grain elevator A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits ...

s and an

aluminum smelter Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

. This power station was further supported and regulated by the

McCormick Dam The McCormick generating station is a dam and power station built on the Manicouagan river by the ''Quebec & Ontario Paper Company'' and the ''Canadian British Aluminium Company'' west of Baie-Comeau, Quebec, Canada. It is named after colonel Rob ...

on St. Anne lake which

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec is a public utility that manages the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the Canadian province of Quebec, as well as the export of power to portions of the Northeast United States. It was established by the ...

had completed by 1959. However, as plans for the Manicouagan-Outardes project progressed, engineers discovered that water flow at the mouth of the Manicouagan could be better utilized. At Hydro-Québec's request, the Manicouagan Power Company further upgraded the McCormick plant's capacity to 190 MW. Additionally, Hydro-Québec decided to build the Manic-1 generating station adjacent to and augmenting the existing plant and dam.

Characteristics

The Manic-1 Dam consists of a concrete center portion that houses the power station and two rock-fill

dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

s on either side. The western dike is long while the eastern dike that connects to the McCormick Dam is long. The

tailrace A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or bucket ...

or downstream portion of the dam is a long, wide and deep trench that was dug during construction. The power station's

hydraulic head Hydraulic head or piezometric head is a specific measurement of liquid pressure above a vertical datum., 410 pages. See pp. 43–44., 650 pages. See p. 22. It is usually measured as a liquid surface elevation, expressed in units of length, ...

is but can vary between and because of sea

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...

s. At the time of the plant's commission, Manic-1 was expected to operate as a

peaker plant Peaking power plants, also known as peaker plants, and occasionally just "peakers", are power plants that generally run only when there is a high demand, known as peak demand, for electricity. Because they supply power only occasionally, the power ...

, generally run only at times of high demand for electricity, known as

peak demand Peak demand on an electrical grid is simply the highest electrical power demand that has occurred over a specified time period (Gönen 2008). Peak demand is typically characterized as annual, daily or seasonal and has the unit of power. Peak dem ...

. It was expected to generate 40 gigawatt-hours annually.

Notes

References

* {{citation , publisher = Hydro-Québec , last1 = Paradis , first1 = Paul , title = Manic-Outardes , location = Montreal , year = 1967. Baie-Comeau Manicouagan-Outardes hydroelectric project Dams in Quebec Dams completed in 1966 Publicly owned dams in Canada

History

Characteristics

See also

Notes

References