"Big Becky" has started digging a huge tunnel under Niagara Falls, Ontario Power Generation announced last week. The Niagara Tunnel Project is one of the province's renewable energy strategies designed to replace existing coal-fired electricity plants.
"The finished project will generate an additional 1.6 kilowatt hours of clean electric energy per year for at least the next ninety years to supply 160,000 Ontario families," says an OPG news release.
The new Niagara tunnel is the third passageway channeling water from the Niagara River to the Sir Adam Beck Complex hydroelectric plant located below Niagara Falls. It is expected that the new tunnel will bring an additional 500 thousand liters [132 thousand gallons] of water per second to the complex and increase the plant's annual electricity output capacity by 14 percent.
It took OPG nine years and approximately 220 million Canadian dollars (approximately 195 million USD) to bring up the plant's capacity in preparation for the tunnel. "The additional water brought by the new tunnel will enable the plant to work at its full capacity," says OPG spokesperson John Earl.
The 10.4 km [6.5 mile] long, 14.4 m [47 ft] diameter tunnel will run 140 m [460 ft] below the City of Niagara Falls through Queenston shale. It will be parallel to the first two Niagara tunnels, but deeper.
The tunnel digging began on Sept. 1, 2006 with "Big Becky," the world's largest hard rock tunnel boring machine. It was named by a boy in St. Catharine's primary school.
The drilling is expected to move at a rate of 15 m per day and last two years. The project is due to be completed in 2009.
One of Many Renewable Energy Projects
Since 1950, the Niagara River Diversion Treaty has dictated how river water can be redirected by both Canada and the U.S. for power generation. It calls for equal use by both countries.
"Canada was under-using its share of water as the original tunnels were not efficient for water diversion," said Earl. "With the new Niagara tunnel, we will be able to use our portion for hydro power generation."
OPG has invested nearly one billion Canadian dollars in the tunnel project to meet a growing demand for energy, as well as provincial commitments to use clean, renewable sources.
The Niagara Tunnel Project was adopted as one of the Ontario's plans to shut down coal-fired power plants, which are responsible for 20 percent of the province's Green House Gas (GHG) emission, according to Climate Action Network in Canada.
So far, Ontario has shut down one of its coal-fired power plants, and is scheduled to close the remaining four soon. The provincial government hopes to reduce GHG emissions by six percent to pre-1990 levels by 2012, as part of Canada's Kyoto Protocol commitment.
In addition to the Niagara project, 10 more renewable energy projects are on the way, including wind farms, landfill gas energy plants, and several other water power projects. Together they are expected to bring another 300 megawatts of energy, enough to power 100,000 homes.
Since 1896, Niagara Falls has provided hydroelectric power to residents on both sides of the Canada-U.S border. As a Canadian landmark, Niagara Falls also draws about 14 million tourists per year.
With 50 to 75 percent of the water set to be diverted to power plants, some are concerned that little will be left for the sight-seers. The West New York Water Fall Survey has raised this concern. But Earl says the scenery will be preserved.
"The 1950 Treaty sets the mandatory water minimums flowing over the falls to preserve the Niagara Falls scenery. Stock and release schedule has been used to adjust the water volume," says Earl.
The Treaty requires that a minimum of about 2.8 million liters [100,000 cubic feet] of water per second flow over the falls during visible hours and during the peak tourist seasons, and a minimum of 50,000 cubic feet per second at other times.
Earl says the Niagara Tunnel Project will not hurt the local environment as the water will return to the Niagara River after power generation and the excavated hard rock shale can be used to make bricks for house construction.
"An environmental review took place before the project and assessed the environmental impact and strategies of mitigation," said Earl.
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