By Ashley Karen
Rio Tinto company has contracted a second tunnel to take water into the Kemano Powerhouse in British Columbia, celebrating the end of the Kemano T2 hydropower project.
The new 16-kilometre tunnel was filled with water and produced its first megawatt of electricity in July 2022, after its construction was completed in May 2022. Now, T1 and T2 are operating together, securing the long-term reliability of the power supply for Rio Tinto’s BC Works aluminum smelter in Kitimat and neighboring communities.
Rio Tinto predicts the project contributed roughly $850 million to the British Colombia economy and engaged about 340 people at its peak.
Andrew Czornohalan, Rio Tinto B.C. works director of energy and watershed partnerships, claimed: “The completion of a second tunnel to supply water to the Kemano hydropower facility will ensure the long-term, sustainable production of low-carbon aluminum at our smelter in Kitimat.”
He also added: “This extraordinary construction feat is the result of the work of generations of workers over three decades. Partnerships with local communities and the Cheslatta Carrier Nation have been instrumental in the project’s success. I want to thank all our employees and contractors who worked so hard since day one to make this achievement happen.”
As reported, the tunnel was originally built in the 1950s and operated for more than 70 years. At the time, while the second tunnel construction only began in the early 1990s, a 50-meter-long intake stub tunnel was constructed at Tahtsa Lake as well. The project was stopped in 1995 after 8.4 kilometers and then continued in 2018 to refurbish the initial portion of the tunnel and finish the last 7.6 kilometers.
This last section of the tunnel took 30 months to excavate, employing a 1,300-tonne tunnel boring machine (TBM) named tl’ughus by the Cheslatta Carrier Nation after a legendary giant monster snake.
As part of the project’s demobilization, Rio Tinto contributed extra equipment to local First Nations and community organizations in Kitimat, Terrace, and across the Nechako Watershed, comprising avalanche equipment plus swift water and marine survival suits for search and rescue teams.
