Niagara Falls, Ontario: Ontario Power Generation announced successful completion February 9 of the reservoir refurbishment project for the Sir Adam Beck Pump Generating Station (PGS).
"By re-investing in our existing assets, we're able to efficiently produce clean, reliable, low-cost electricity to serve the province for many years," said Jeff Lyash, OPG's President and CEO. "This flexible storage facility is very valuable to Ontario because it time shifts the generation of electricity from periods of low demand to periods of high demand on a daily basis."
Built in 1957, the PGS can displace up to 600MW of fossil fuel generation for nearly eight hours. Water in the reservoir is used for electricity production at the PGS and again for a second time at the Beck station.
The reservoir refurbishment project started April 1, 2016 and was expected to take one year to complete. The project was completed safely nearly two months in advance and for less than the planned $60M budget.
Sir Adam Beck I generating station has produced power since 1921, while Sir Adam Beck II generating station began operations in 1954. Both stations along with the PGS have a combined capacity of over 2,200 MW.