The Bay D'Espoir Hydroelectric Development, built by the Newfoundland and Labrador Power Commission is located on the south coast of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

near the rural community of

Bay d'Espoir Bay d'Espoir ( ) is an arm of Hermitage Bay in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, located on the south coast of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland. Communities in Bay d'Espoir include: Milltown-Head of Bay d'Espoir, Morrisville, St. Alban's, Newfoundlan ...

. It was the second major

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

project undertaken on

History

The hydroelectric potential of this area was known by the early 1920s but its development was not seriously considered until 1954 when British Newfoundland Development Corporation (BRINCO) became interested in the site. In 1957 a Shawinigan Engineering survey confirmed the feasibility of building a hydroelectric plant. By 1959 BRINCO had set up a subsidiary, Southern Newfoundland Power and Development Corporation, to carry out the project. However, the subsidiary was unable to attract industrial customers to the area; this, it felt, was necessary before undertaking the project, so in 1964 it sold all its rights and assets to the Newfoundland Government. The government, by taking over the project, became eligible for a $20 million grant from the Atlantic Development Board a

Federal Government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

agency. The engineering and construction work was carried out by ShawMont Newfoundland Engineering, a joint venture company formed by Shawinigan Engineering and Montreal Engineering in 1964. The Bay D'Espoir Hydroelectric Development was undertaken to provide the province with a large source of low-cost electric power which would allow the Island's utilities to extend their services, stimulate the expansion of the industries already in the province and attract new industries to Newfoundland and Labrador. The Electric Reduction Company of Canada Industries Limited (ERCO),

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

plant at Long Harbour and the Come by Chance Oil Refinery at Come by Chance were built partially because of the availability of cheap power. Units 1 through 4 went online between 1967 and 1968, with each unit having a rated capacity of 75 MW. Generating unit 2 underwent a major refurbishment during the summer of 2010, including a

stator The stator is the stationary part of a rotary system, found in electric generators, electric motors, sirens, mud motors, or biological rotors (such as bacterial flagella or ATP synthase). Energy flows through a stator to or from the rotat ...

rewind, rotor pole re-insulation and protection upgrade. This project was the first stator rewind on a unit of this size in Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro's history."Bay d'Espoir Hydroelectric Generating Station Generating Unit 2 Refurbishment"
Kevin King, Newfoundland Labrador Hydro

Design

The headwaters of the Bay d'Espoir system begin at Victoria Lake at an approximate elevation of 320 metres. Through a man-made array of

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, aqua ...

s and

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

s, this water is directed to generating plants at Granite Canal, Upper Salmon and, finally, 150 km from Victoria Lake to its final tidewater destination at Bay d'Espoir. Water is collected, stored and diverted from a number of drainage areas between Victoria Lake and Long Pond, the forebay for the two Bay d'Espoir generating stations. The seven generating units at Bay d'Espoir utilize approximately 176 m of

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

to produce a rated output of 613.4 MW with a rated flow of 397 m³/s. The plant produces an average of 2,657 GWh annually, making it the largest hydroelectric plant on Newfoundland.

References

External links

{{stack, {{Portal, Canada, Water, Renewable energy
Bay d'Espoir Hydroelectric Generating Facility website
Dams in Newfoundland and Labrador Hydroelectric power stations in Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro