Waneta Dam

Waneta Dam
Coordinates 49°00′15″N 117°36′42″W / 49.0041°N 117.6116°W / 49.0041; -117.6116Coordinates: 49°00′15″N 117°36′42″W / 49.0041°N 117.6116°W / 49.0041; -117.6116
Opening date 1954[1]
Operator(s) FortisBC (Operator), Teck Resources (Owner)[2]
Dam and spillways
Impounds Pend d'Oreille
Height 76 metres (249 ft)[1]
Power station
Installed capacity 450 MW
Annual generation 1,980.7 GWh[3]

Waneta Dam is a concrete gravity-type hydroelectric dam on the Pend d'Oreille River 9 km downstream from Seven Mile Dam in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It supplies electric power to Teck Resources metallurgical operations at Trail, British Columbia and for BC Hydro which since 2009 has a 1/3 ownership of the facility.[4] It is located near the mouth of the Pend d'Oreille River just before it empties into the Columbia River, slightly north of the Canada–United States border. The powerplant currently has four units and has a capacity of 450 megawatts.[1]

Construction of a new two-unit powerplant commenced in winter of 2010/11 to increase the dam's generating capacity by an additional 335 megawatts. This project, called Waneta Expansion, is a partnership, with Fortis Inc. holding a 51% share in the project and the two Crown agencies Columbia Power Corporation and Columbia Basin Trust holding a 32.5% and 16.5% share, respectively. SNC-Lavalin is designing and building the project, which will take 4 1/2 years to construct, while Columbia Power Corporation is acting as project manager.

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