The Kettle Generating Station, also known as Kettle Rapids Generating Station, is a

run-of-the-river Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amo ...

hydroelectric power station on the Lower

Nelson River The Nelson River is a river of north-central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The river drains Lake Winnipeg and runs before it ends in Hudson Bay. Its full length (including the Saskatchewan River and Bow River) is ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

, Canada. It is located northwest of Gillam. As part of the

Nelson River Hydroelectric Project The Nelson River Hydroelectric Project refers to the construction of a series of dams and hydroelectric power plants on the Nelson River in Northern Manitoba, Canada. The project began to take shape in the late 1950s, with the planning and construc ...

, the power station was completed in 1973 and the last generator commissioned in 1974. It has an installed capacity of and is the second largest power station in Manitoba. Construction on the station began in the spring of 1966 and it was carried out in several phases. First, the power house was constructed after a circular coffer dam was set on the right side of the river. Second, the spillway was built adjacent and to the left of the power house while the river flowed through the power house in the meantime. Once the spillway was complete the entire the river was diverted through it. At this point, the turbines and generators were loaded into the power house and the earth-fill section on the dam's left bank was completed. The first generator was commissioned in December 1970 and seven generators were operational in June 1973 when the station was officially opened. The last generator was commissioned in November 1974. Of the river's width, the power house covers or 43 percent. The spillway covers 22 percent in the center of the dam and the earth-fill dam completes the remaining 35 percent in length. The dam's

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure t ...

is controlled by eight floodgates and can discharge up to of water. The power house contains twelve 102 MW propeller-type turbine-generators for an installed capacity of 1,220 MW. Each turbine can discharge up to and are afforded of

hydraulic head Hydraulic head or piezometric head is a specific measurement of liquid pressure above a vertical datum., 410 pages. See pp. 43–44., 650 pages. See p. 22. It is usually measured as a liquid surface elevation, expressed in units of length, ...

References

{{Nelson River dams Dams completed in 1973 Energy infrastructure completed in 1973 Energy infrastructure completed in 1974 Dams in Manitoba Hydroelectric power stations in Manitoba Run-of-the-river power stations Dams on the Nelson River

See also

References