User:Dougmcdonell/Kemano Hydroelectric Generating Station

Kemano Hydroelectric Generating Station new article content ... 53.562846,-127.944474 The plant comprises a 1/4 mi long tunnel, the width of a two-lane highway, drilled and blasted through the coastal mountains to carry water to the penstocks of the Kemano powerhouse. The water plunges 800 m (2,600 ft) to drive the generators. The two 300 kV power transmission lines travel 82 km (51 mi) from Kemano to Kitimat across some of the most rugged mountain territory in British Columbia, along the Kildala Pass, about 1,500 m (5,000 ft) above sea-level. Voice communication over the power lines was the only form fast contact between the sites. Between 1951 and 1954, 6,000 construction workers built the dam, tunnel, powerhouse, transmission line, the smelter, and the town. There was no road to Kemano before and after the project; everything had to be brought in by air or river. Sixteen people died making the tunnel. In 1956 the smelter complex consumed 35% of yearly electric energy in British Columbia.