Manic-1 is a hydroelectric

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

and dam at the mouth of the

Manicouagan River The Manicouagan or Manicuagan River, often clipped to Manic, is a river in Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. The river originates in the Manicouagan Reservoir and flows approximately south, emptying into the Saint Lawrence River near Baie-Come ...

west of

Baie-Comeau Baie-Comeau (; 2021 city population 20,687; CA population 26,643) is a city located approximately north-east of Quebec City in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the shores of the Saint Lawrence River ne ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, Canada. The power station was commissioned between 1966 and 1967 and producing 184 MW, it is the smallest of the Manicouagan-Outardes project.

History

Between 1949 and 1956, to keep up with increasing electricity demands, the Manicouagan Power Company constructed and upgraded a 126 MW hydroelectric power station on the falls of the Manicouagan River' mouth. Electricity demand continued to rise with the construction of local

grain elevator A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposit ...

s and an aluminum smelter. This power station was further supported and regulated by the McCormick Dam on St. Anne lake which

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec is a public utility that manages the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the Canadian province of Quebec, as well as the export of power to portions of the Northeast United States. It was established by th ...

had completed by 1959. However, as plans for the Manicouagan-Outardes project progressed, engineers discovered that water flow at the mouth of the Manicouagan could be better utilized. At Hydro-Québec's request, the Manicouagan Power Company further upgraded the McCormick plant's capacity to 190 MW. Additionally, Hydro-Québec decided to build the Manic-1 generating station adjacent to and augmenting the existing plant and dam.

Characteristics

The Manic-1 Dam consists of a concrete center portion that houses the power station and two rock-fill dikes on either side. The western dike is long while the eastern dike that connects to the McCormick Dam is long. The tailrace or downstream portion of the dam is a long, wide and deep trench that was dug during construction. The power station's

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, ...

is but can vary between and because of sea

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can ...

s. At the time of the plant's commission, Manic-1 was expected to operate as a peaker plant, generally run only at times of high demand for electricity, known as

peak demand Peak demand on an electrical grid is simply the highest electrical power demand that has occurred over a specified time period (Gönen 2008). Peak demand is typically characterized as annual, daily or seasonal and has the unit of power. Peak dem ...

. It was expected to generate 40 gigawatt-hours annually.

Notes

References

* {{citation , publisher = Hydro-Québec , last1 = Paradis , first1 = Paul , title = Manic-Outardes , location = Montreal , year = 1967. Baie-Comeau Manicouagan-Outardes hydroelectric project Dams in Quebec Dams completed in 1966 Publicly owned dams in Canada

History

Characteristics

See also

Notes

References