OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
My wife and I had our 12th year wedding anniversary on the weekend. On our 10 year we toured Bruce Nuclear and visited Kincardine, this time around we went to the falls. There are three inactive hydro-electric generating stations at the falls, all of which of course caught my interest
So, first, some falls pics:
Next, we come to the first of the three intact but non-functional generating stations, the Toronto Power Generating Station. This station was completed in 1906 and housed 11 turbines, each with an installed capacity of 12,500HP after Ontario Hydro purchased and uprated it. Total installed capacity would have been 102.5MW, which, while paltry by today's standards, was quite significant at the time. The facility was constructed to provide power to the city of Toronto via a long-distance transmission corridor. It was put out of service in 1974, primarily due to it producing 25Hz power, which was no longer compatible with the Ontario grid.
Further downstream, closer to the falls we have the Rankine Generating Station which broke ground in 1900. The station eventually housed eleven generators with an installed capacity of 120,500HP, or ~90MW. This station operated surprisingly until 2009, despite also producing 25Hz power. OPG recently had a survey out with questions as to whether they should refit this facility with modern turbines that were compatible with the existing grid and potentially reactivate it.
Below the falls we have the Ontario Hydro Generating Station. This facility consists of two structures, the first being the smaller upper building above the falls adjacent to the Toronto Power facility, which houses inlets and is readily visible. The second is the outlet building at the bottom of the falls whose appearance has an extreme haunted house look to it, covered in moss and growth, its spillways now eerily silent as the facility lays dormant. Its installed capacity was, at peak, 132.5MW. It was also removed from service in 1974.
So, first, some falls pics:
Next, we come to the first of the three intact but non-functional generating stations, the Toronto Power Generating Station. This station was completed in 1906 and housed 11 turbines, each with an installed capacity of 12,500HP after Ontario Hydro purchased and uprated it. Total installed capacity would have been 102.5MW, which, while paltry by today's standards, was quite significant at the time. The facility was constructed to provide power to the city of Toronto via a long-distance transmission corridor. It was put out of service in 1974, primarily due to it producing 25Hz power, which was no longer compatible with the Ontario grid.
Further downstream, closer to the falls we have the Rankine Generating Station which broke ground in 1900. The station eventually housed eleven generators with an installed capacity of 120,500HP, or ~90MW. This station operated surprisingly until 2009, despite also producing 25Hz power. OPG recently had a survey out with questions as to whether they should refit this facility with modern turbines that were compatible with the existing grid and potentially reactivate it.
Below the falls we have the Ontario Hydro Generating Station. This facility consists of two structures, the first being the smaller upper building above the falls adjacent to the Toronto Power facility, which houses inlets and is readily visible. The second is the outlet building at the bottom of the falls whose appearance has an extreme haunted house look to it, covered in moss and growth, its spillways now eerily silent as the facility lays dormant. Its installed capacity was, at peak, 132.5MW. It was also removed from service in 1974.