| Innovations & dam safety
Act, 2015 and ICOLD guidelines. These are expected to be completed by June 2024. The designs for raising dam and spillway heights have been prepared by others. The transfer of technology and capacity building is very important for safe and sustainable operations and maintenance and so as part of the project, SMEC says it will develop a training programme to upskill counterpart staff selected by NRWB. With loan financing from the European Investment Bank, the project forms part of the NRWB Water Efficiency Project which aims to improve water resources management in the region. Increasing the volume of the dam is one of the interim measures to ensure continual supply of water in Mzuzu city while sourcing financing for a long-term water supply solution.
Redevelopment
Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is gearing up to redevelop the 117-year-old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, in northwestern Ontario, Canada. The second- oldest hydro station in the company’s fleet, the ageing infrastructure has much of its original equipment. Currently boasting a peak output of 24.4MW, OPG has initiated plans for a comprehensive redevelopment project aimed at ensuring continued safe and reliable power generation for the next 90 years. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2025, with completion anticipated by 2027. The ambitious plan includes building a new powerhouse extension situated upstream of the existing facility on the eastern bank of the Kaministiquia River. This will feature two state-of-the-art turbine-generating units, capable of producing approximately 27MW – a 13% increase from the current capacity. Simultaneously, the existing generating units and ancillary equipment will be removed from the original powerhouse, which will be preserved in its current location, and four penstocks and the surge tank will also be replaced. Situated within the traditional territory of the Fort William First Nation, the Kakabeka Falls redevelopment project is expected to yield economic benefits for local Indigenous communities. OPG has been working closely with the Fort William First Nation, ensuring community consultation and input are integral to the project’s planning stages.
Top and above: SMEC has been appointed to prepare the Lunyangwa Dam Safety Management Plan in Malawi
Left: Kakabeka Falls, near Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada. Ontario Power Generation is redeveloping its second oldest hydropower station there
www.waterpowermagazine.com | March 2024 | 19
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