Twin Falls is the site of a

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power station developed by the

British Newfoundland Development Corporation The British Newfoundland Corporation Limited, and from 1971 onwards Brinco Limited, was incorporated by a consortium of British companies in 1953, which undertook industrial development opportunities in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, ...

(Brinco) to deliver power to mining operations in

Labrador City Labrador City is a town in western Labrador (part of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador), near the Quebec border. With a population of 7,412 as of 2021, it is the second-largest population cent ...

and

Wabush Wabush is a small town in the western tip of Labrador, bordering Quebec, known for transportation and iron ore operations. Economy Wabush is the twin community of Labrador City. At its peak population in the late 1970s, the region had a populati ...

. Commissioned in 1963, its operation ended in 1974. The station is located on the Unknown River, a tributary of the Churchill River that drains the central

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

basin. Construction began in 1960. The river was dammed at Twin Falls to form the Ossokmanuan Reservoir. When finished in 1963, the station has a total capacity of 225 MW with two long transmission lines at 230,000

volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, Voltage#Galvani potential vs. electrochemical potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units, International System of Uni ...

s (or 230 kV). It cost $47.5 million (1963). Twin Falls power was essential to the later development at

Churchill Falls Churchill Falls (formerly called Grand Falls and known as Patshishetshuanau in Innu) is a high waterfall on the Churchill River in Labrador, Canada. Formerly counted among the most impressive natural features of Canada, the diversion of the r ...

. It helped open up the area and supplied the power required during the construction phase of the project. In the planning stage, however, it became apparent that greater

capacity factor The net capacity factor is the unitless ratio of actual electrical energy output over a given period of time to the theoretical maximum electrical energy output over that period. The theoretical maximum energy output of a given installation is def ...

in the production of electricity could be achieved by diverting the flow of water from the Ossokmanuan Reservoir into the Smallwood Reservoir. Utilizing this water at the Churchill Falls plant enabled approximately three times as much electricity to be produced from the same volume of water. In July 1974 the Twin Falls plant was put into extended shutdown and the water diverted into the

Smallwood Reservoir The Smallwood Reservoir is the reservoir created for the Churchill Falls Generating Station in the western part of Labrador, Canada. Unlike other reservoirs, water is contained not by a single large dam, but by a series of 88 dikes that total i ...

under an agreement with

Churchill Falls Labrador Corporation Limited Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation Limited, also known as CF(L)Co or CFLco is a Canadian electric company. The company was founded in 1961 and is based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation Limited o ...

(CFLCo).

Aerodrome

Twin Falls Aerodrome is an abandoned airport located southeast of the Twin Falls Hydroelectric Power Station, in

, Canada.

References

{{stack, {{Portal, Canada, Water, Renewable energy Hydroelectric power stations in Newfoundland and Labrador Labrador Waterfalls of Newfoundland and Labrador Churchill Falls Defunct airports in Newfoundland and Labrador