La Grande Hydro Quebec

Initiated by hydro quebec and the quebec government in the 1970s and located between james bay and labrador on the la grande river in northwestern quebec canada it is one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the world with a total capacity of more than 16000 mw. At 162 metres high and 2835 metres wide it is canadas largest hydro project the worlds ninth largest hydro project and the worlds largest underground generating station at 137 metres below ground. The la grande 1 is a hydroelectric power station on the la grande river that is part of hydro quebec s james bay project.
la grande hydro quebec

Located in a region inhabited by cree and inuit 1000 km 620 mi north of montreal the la grande river watershed stretches over 177000 km 2 68000 sq mi or approximately 11 of the total area of quebec an area larger than florida or twice the size of scotland.

La grande hydro quebec. The station can generate 1436 mw and was commissioned in 19941995. Hydro quebecs robert bourassa generating facility and la grande 2 a generating station in baie james northern quebec. Hydro quebec owns 27 large reservoirs. Phase i of the project cost 137 billion and entailed massive diversions of water from the eastmain opinaca and caniapiscau rivers to dammed reservoirs on la grande riviere increasing the average flow of la grande riviere from 1700 to 3300 m 3 s.

La grande 2 lg 2 power station now known as the robert bourassa was completed in 1982 and remains north americas largest power generating site. A run of the river generating station it is one of only two generating stations of the james bay project that use a reservoir without any major water level fluctuations the laforge 2 generating station is the other. Eight hydropower stations generate an average of 83 twh a year allowing pollution free production of a significant portion of quebecs electricity. The la grande hydroelectric complex hydro quebec.

La grande 1 generating station hydro quebec. La grande river french. Chisasibi both meaning great river is a river in northwestern quebec canada which rises in the highlands of north central quebec and flows roughly 900 kilometres 560 mi west to drain into james bay. The 7722 mw robert bourassa hydroelectric generating station is located on the la grande river in northern quebec.

Take advantage of your visit to baie james james bay to visit la grande 1 generating station the last facility in the complex before the river empties. La grande riviere cree. Together these huge manmade lakes have a maximum storage capacity of 176 billion kwhthe equivalent of quebecs electricity needs for an entire year. A tiered spillway three times the height of niagara falls was blasted from the bedrock.