By The leading partner of PRHP (Peace River Hydro Partners), ACCIONA, has successfully completed one of the most significant technical milestones on the Site-C project by finalizing the construction of the two twin tunnels to divert the Peace River. Each of the tunnels is 750 m long with an 11-m diameter and once operational will channel up to 3,000 cubic meters of water per second from the Peace River.
Diversion tunnels’ excavation began in the summer of 2018 and was completed at the end of 2019. The process of lining the tunnels, which used a custom-made slip form structure to ensure an ultimate finish, began in the summer of 2019 and was completed on May 2020.
The project which has been commissioned to ACCIONA and its partner by BC Hydro, includes the construction of an earthfill dam spanning more than 1 km that rises 60 m over the riverbed of the Peace River. The significant civil engineering contract also contains major auxiliary works such as construction of 5 km of cofferdams and the two newly completed river diversion tunnels, along with several temporary access roads and bridges.
Moreover, ACCIONA is constructing an 800-m long to a max height of 70-m foundation structure from RCC (roller-compacted concrete) with a total volume of 1.8 million cubic meters, to support the spillways and the hydroelectric power plant.
When completed, Site C will be one of Canada’s largest dams and the third hydroelectric dam and power plant on the Peace River. Once in operation, the project will provide 1,100 megawatts of capacity and about 5,100 gigawatt hours of energy each year to the province’s integrated electricity system. It will ensure the supply of renewable and clean energy for more than 100 years, to an average of 450,000 homes per year in BC.
For more information about the project, follow this link: https://www.sitecproject.com/
To find out more about the PRHP joint venture building the Site C Clean Energy Project, visit: http://www.prhp.ca/
Source: Tunnel Business Magazine
2nd June 2020
