The Niagara Tunnel Project was part of a series of major additions to the

Sir Adam Beck Sir Adam Beck (June 20, 1857 – August 15, 1925) was a Canadian politician and hydroelectricity advocate who founded the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. Biography Beck was born in Baden, Upper Canada (now Ontario) to German i ...

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 ...

generation complex in

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Water delivered by the major new tunnel complements other upgrades to the

Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Generating Stations Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Generating Stations are two hydroelectric generating stations in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Sir Adam Beck Generating Station I, Sir Adam Beck Generating Station II and the Sir Adam Beck Pump Generating Station are ...

, resulting in more efficient use of the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

's hydro power. The project's new diameter, long tunnel was officially placed into service on 21 March 2013, helping to increase the generating complex's

nameplate capacity Nameplate capacity, also known as the rated capacity, nominal capacity, installed capacity, or maximum effect, is the intended full-load sustained output of a facility such as a power station,

by 150

megawatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...

, with the extra power produced enough for approximately 160,000 homes.

Background

First constructed in 1922, the initial Sir Adam Beck power generating station, now abbreviated as SAB 1, derived its water supply from a hydro canal connected to the

Welland River The Welland River (originally called the Chippawa Creek) is a river in the Golden Horseshoe that passes through the Southern Ontario cities of Welland and Niagara Falls. It flows from its source just south of Hamilton, Ontario to meet the Niag ...

. Increased power demand necessitated a second generating station, SAB 2, to be constructed in 1954. SAB 2 derives its water supply from two diversion tunnels, each about in length. In 1958, a reservoir and the SAB Pump Station were constructed in order to make better use of available water by storing it during periods of low demand and using it in periods of greater demand in order to maximize the efficiency of the stations in regards to electricity supply and demand. Between 1996 and 2005,

Ontario Power Generation Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG) is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and "government business enterprise" that is responsible for approximately half of the electricity generation in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is w ...

(OPG), which owns and operates the SAB complex, completed a series of major upgrades at the SAB 2 plant, increasing its potential generating

by 194

. Water delivered through the new Niagara Tunnel Project complements the SAB 2 upgrade, and results in an overall increase to the efficient use of the Niagara River's

hydro power Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a wa ...

. The new long tunnel is in diameter, or about four storeys in height, and allows an additional diversion of a distant part of the Niagara River to reach the SAB plant complex at a rate of about 500 cubic metres (17,657 cubic feet) of water per second, a flow rate that can fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in seconds. The Ontario Government considers the Niagara Tunnel Project and the Sir Adam Beck complex as integral to its efforts to close all of the province's coal-fired generating plants as part of its clean and green energy program. Upon the project's formal opening the Honourable

Bob Chiarelli Robert Chiarelli (born September 24, 1941) is a Canadian politician. He was a Liberal member in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who served from 1987 to 1997 and again from 2010 to 2018 who represented the ridings of Ottawa West and Ottawa W ...

, M.P.P., Ontario's

Minister of Energy An energy minister is a position in many governments responsible for energy production and regulation, developing governmental energy policy, scientific research, and natural resources conservation. In some countries, environmental responsibilities ...

, stated that "This project is a source of pride as an engineering feat and as a practical solution for meeting Ontario's energy needs through clean sources".

Construction

The Niagara Tunnel was constructed using a

Tunnel Boring Machine A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. They may also be used for microtunneling. They can be designed to bore throu ...

(TBM), affectionately named "Big Becky" in honour of

. The TBM machine bored a tunnel about long and about 14.4 metres (47 ft) in diameter under the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario, from the

to the SAB complex. The bored tunnel was subsequently lined with an impervious membrane and a concrete lining, pre-stressed by high pressure grouting. The massive undertaking created about 1.6 million cubic metres of rock and debris, and was designed for a minimum 90-year life span. The HP 471-316 TBM was driven by 15 electric motors totaling about 4.7 megawatts of power (6,375 horsepower), built by the Robbins Company of

Solon, Ohio Solon ( ) is a city in southeastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. A suburb of Cleveland, it is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. According to the 2020 census, the population of Solon was 24,262. The city has been recognized by ''M ...

, and was the world's largest hard-rock tunnel boring machine as of 2006. The TBM operated as deep as below ground level to avoid the machine's vibrations being felt at surface level.Niagara Tunnel Project Technical Facts
NiagaraFrontier.com website, updated November 2012. The design-build contractor for the project was the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n construction company Strabag AG, a large construction group with extensive experience in large tunnel construction. Boring by the Hatch Mott MacDonald Engineering Company started on 15 September 2006 at the north end, located at and ended on 31 March 2011 at the south end, located at

Due to slower than projected boring progress caused by constant tunnel roof over-breaks, the project completion date was extended to at least December 2013, with a revised total projected cost of $1.6B.

Completion and commissioning

On 21 March 2013 the Ontario Power Generation, Ontario Power Generation Corporation (OPG) and the Ontario Government officially placed the new Niagara tunnel into service with a formal opening ceremony and tour.21 March 2013: Niagara Tunnel Now In-Service
Ontario Power Generation website, March 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.Water Now Flowing Through Newly Completed Niagara Tunnel Project will generate 100 plus years of renewable electricity
OPG News Release, 21 March 2013 (PDF). The OPG reported that the project will be financially rewarding despite being completed four years later than planned and about $500M over its originally estimated cost. OPG's president and CEO Tom Mitchell stated: "This was a large, complex project that will serve Ontario for more than 100 years".Harris, Michael
Niagara Tunnel Completion Important Piece for Ontario's Hydroelectric Power Supply
''RenewableEnergyWorld.com'' in association with ''HydroWorld.com'', 9 April 2013. The tunnel project was completed at a total cost $100 million lower than its revised $1.6 billion budget, and with an in-service date of 9 March 2013. The operational start-of-service date was nine months sooner than the project's revised schedule that was drawn up in 2009 due to unexpected and difficult geological conditions encountered in the soft Queenston Shale Formation during the tunnel boring process.Larocque, Corey
Big Becky's running late: OPG
''

Niagara Falls Review The ''Niagara Falls Review'' is a daily newspaper distributed in Niagara Falls and also serving the nearby towns of Fort Erie and Niagara-on-the-Lake area in Ontario, Canada. The paper is owned by Metroland Media Group, a subsidiary of Torstar. ...

'', 26 November 2008. The new tunnel will provide enough additional water to the Sir Adam Beck generating complex to produce power for approximately 160,000 homes. The Niagara Tunnel Project was selected by International Water Power & Dam Construction as the North American Project of the Year for 2013.International Water Power & Dam Construction �
North American Project of the Year – Niagara tunnel project
Retrieved September 2013.

References

External links

Official Niagara Tunnel web page

Ontario Power Generation website

Hatch Ltd, Owners Engineering Team with Hatch Mott MacDonald for Ontario Power Generation

Morrison Hershfield Lead Consulting Engineer for outside works

Niagara Tunnel Project on the ''Rick Mercer Report''
Season 8, Episode 17, 15 March 2011. Retrieved from the CBC.ca website ^(video) {{coord, 43, 04, 10.72, N, 79, 03, 33.77, W, display=title Hydroelectric power stations in Ontario Ontario Power Generation Engineering projects 2013 establishments in Ontario Energy infrastructure completed in 2013 Tunnels completed in 2013

Background

Construction

Completion and commissioning

See also

References

External links