The Rankine Generating Station is a former hydro-electric generating station along the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
side 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) ...
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 ...
, slightly downstream from the older
Toronto Power Generating Station
The Toronto Power Generating Station is a former generating station located along the Niagara River in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, slightly upstream from the newer Rankine power station. Completed in 1906 in the Beaux-Arts-style, the stati ...
. It was built in for the
Canadian Niagara Power Company
Canadian Niagara Power Inc. is an electricity transmission and distribution utility servicing Fort Erie, Ontario, Fort Erie and Port Colborne, Ontario. Founded in 1892 as the Canadian Niagara Power Company, it operated the Rankine Generating Stati ...
and named for company's founder William Birch Rankine (b. 1858), a New York City (and later of Niagara Falls) lawyer originally from
Geneva, New York
Geneva is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, Ontario and Seneca County, New York, Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake (New York), Seneca Lake; all land port ...
who died three days after (in
Grafton, New Hampshire
Grafton is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,385 at the 2020 census.
History
Originally granted in 1761, and re-granted in 1769, Grafton, like the county it resides in, takes its name from Augustus F ...
) the station opened in 1905 and renamed in 1927. Acquired by
Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation
Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation was a New York State utility company, which was acquired in 2000 by National Grid plc. The Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation designation was retired, using variations of NationalGridUS (such as National Grid Buffa ...
in 1950 and in 2002, the station became a wholly owned subsidiary of FortisOntario (and part of Canadian owned
Fortis Inc.
Fortis Inc. is a St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador-based international diversified electric utility holding company. It operates in Canada, the United States, Central America, and the Caribbean. In 2015, it earned .
Fortis was formed in 19 ...
). It was decommissioned in 2006.
It reopened in July 2021 as a tourist site.
Generating capacity
The facility, also known as The Canadian Niagara Power Generating Station, contained eleven vertical axle, 25 Hertz generators rated at 8320 kVA each for a total generating capacity of 100 MVA. When opening in 1905, the plant was equipped with only five turbines and generators. The generators were based on a design by
Beaux-Arts architecture
Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpora ...
station was handed over to the
Niagara Parks Commission
The Niagara Parks Commission, commonly shortened to Niagara Parks, is an agency of the Government of Ontario which maintains the Ontario shoreline of the Niagara River.
History
The Commission was founded in 1885 and charged with preserving and ...
in 2009. Reasons for the closure were:
* The station produced 25 Hz power, and would have needed to be retrofitted to the North American standard of 60 Hz
* The turbines and generators had drifted out of alignment due to movement of the rock on which the station was built
In 2009 Rankine station's water rights, along with those of two other nearby generating stations, were reallocated 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 ...
Photographs and video clips published in 2012 indicated that much of the interior of the plant was in excellent condition. In October 2019, the Niagara Parks Commission publicized plans to re-open the facility in 2021 as a historic industrial site for the purposes of tourism. A report by a journalist who visited the station indicated that the interior remained pristine, with generators painted blue and "doors and enormous hinges made of copper, mosaic tile floors, a beautiful clock at one end of the main hall, marble control panels with old school switches that date to the 1920s, and fittings and other instruments".
William B. Rankine Generating Station Bridge
William B. Rankine Generating Station Bridge is a five span stone arch bridge that cross the water inlet to the power station north of Fraser Hill. The main bridge carries traffic on Niagara Parkway and smaller pedestrian bridge is located at the mouth of the outlet on the shores of the Niagara River. The bridge was rehabilitated in a project that ran from 2012 to 2014; it now has four wide traffic lanes and a separate pedestrian lane.
Niagara Parks Commission
The Niagara Parks Commission, commonly shortened to Niagara Parks, is an agency of the Government of Ontario which maintains the Ontario shoreline of the Niagara River.
History
The Commission was founded in 1885 and charged with preserving and ...