Empowering the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador is among the top priorities of the provincial government as well as Nalcor Energy, one of the leading hydroelectricity providers in North America. In fact, according to Gilbert Bennett, vice president – Lower Churchill Project, the province’s economic health and energy resources are fundamental to the provincial energy plan, which includes the Lower Churchill development.
“Energy and development is critical to our economic future,” Bennett says. “In terms of our financial well-being and the fiscal capacity of our province, we looked at the success of our offshore resources and tried to replicate that.
“It also is of importance for us to develop renewable resources, or the conversion to renewable resources to serve as an ‘energy warehouse’ for the rest of the region,” Bennett adds.
Nalcor Energy is building a project that will capture the hydroelectric potential of Muskrat Falls and Gull Island, which make the lower Churchill River in Labrador one of the best hydropower sources in North America. The Lower Churchill Project is being developed in two phases.
The first phase includes an 824-megawatt hydroelectric generating facility at Muskrat Falls, as well as the Labrador-Island Link that will transmit power from Muskrat falls to Soldiers Pond on the Avalon Peninsula, and the Maritime Link connecting Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, which will be constructed by Emera Inc.
The Muskrat Falls phase was sanctioned by the government of Newfoundland and Labrador in December 2012, and construction is expected to take five years to complete. Once Muskrat Falls is operational, Nalcor Energy will look to phase two of the Lower Churchill project. This project consists of the development of the 2,250-megawatt Gull Island generation facility and associated transmission infrastructure. The proposed development of Gull Island would follow no earlier than three years after the sanction of Muskrat Falls, according to the company’s website.
Experience on Board
In 2010, following a competitive and extensive procurement process, Nalcor Energy contracted engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) for Phase 1 of the Lower Churchill Falls project to SNC-Lavalin Inc. This contractor has offices throughout Canada and around the world, including Newfoundland and Labrador, and is recognized as a global leader in hydro developments.
The EPCM contract includes the Muskrat Falls Generating Facility and the Labrador-Island Transmission Link, but it does not include the Strait of Belle Isle subsea crossing or the Maritime Link. Nalcor Energy is conducting the work related to the subsea crossing in-house.
Bennett says this required coordination between SNC-Lavalin, Emera and Nalcor Energy. With a project team of about 400, meticulous planning and staging are required.
“There was a broad spectrum of expertise required on the project,” he says. “And for the project executing on site, we had a quality assurance team and a multidisciplinary team across a number of fronts to advance the project.”
When all construction is completed, Bennett estimates that this project will result in a significant supply of energy for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Based on the province’s projected energy demands for the future, that will make for plenty of energy to sell to other provinces.
“Through Muskrat Falls, we’ll have extra capacity that will give us a surplus of energy beyond our immediate requirements,” Bennett adds. “That gives us capacity and power to deliver to the market based on how market conditions evolve over time.”
Nalcor Energy performed site preparation work throughout 2012 to complete access road and utility accessibility to the site by the time the project was commissioned in December. Through fall 2013, crews will pour concrete at the site for the generation station, and construction of the facility will continue for approximately five years.
The Subsea Situation
One challenge found in this part of the world that isn’t often encountered in the rest of North America involves safeguarding against icebergs. Bennett says Nalcor Energy is building the portion of the transmission system connecting Labrador to the island of Newfoundland via a subsea cable. Using horizontal directional drilling technology, the cables will be laid on the ocean floor to get deep enough to avoid this threat. Three cables will be laid in total, which includes a spare in the event another cable is inoperable .
“In our marine environment, that is something that we’re used to,” he says. “We have oil installations off the east coast that have the potential for damage from icebergs, which is an important consideration.”
Another engineering feat for the Lower Churchill project is the massive undertaking that is the large generating facility. The facility will include two dams: the north dam and the south dam. The north dam will be constructed using a special high-density concrete, known as roller-compacted concrete. The concrete mix is spread by bulldozers, and then compacted by compaction rollers into a series of horizontal layers. The south dam will be a conventional rock-filled dam that will be constructed by building up layers of rock and till material on the underlying bedrock, which will serve as a foundation for the dam.
Worldwide Procurement
In an effort to obtain the best value for the project, goods and services required for the Lower Churchill Project have been sourced from all over the world to date, according to Bennett. For instance, the wind turbines and generators are from China, the submarine cable is manufactured in Japan and the transmission steel was made in Turkey.
“The supply chain is quite wide, and we’re drawing on expertise from the global marketplace to successfully deliver the project,” Bennett says.
However, there are still plenty of resources that originated in Canada and the United States. For instance, skilled laborers come at a premium in Canada because of the nation’s booming energy industry, so Bennett says Nalcor Energy is constantly on the lookout for qualified employees.
“We are watching the labor supply very closely,” he says. “We know our workforce is aging, so we need to determine how we address getting new entrants into the workforce, ensuring that we have competitive terms and conditions of employment to offer to potential workers, and quality amenities at the worksite.”
Much Experience for New Work
In addition to undertaking a massive new project that utilizes the latest technological advances, Nalcor Energy has more than 50 years of experience in utility operations to rely on. The company already has a number of hydroelectric projects in its portfolio.
“We’re absolutely committed to delivering the project and looking forward to new development in Newfoundland and Labrador,” Bennett says.
