Hydro project eyed up north
This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 and is filed under Syntaris Power.
Backers of a hydro project north of here say it has all the attributes of making a valuable contribution to the province’s energy needs.
Syntaris Power wants to raise the level of Kinskuch Lake by building a small dam where water would normally flow into the Kinskuch River.
The resulting reservoir would be drawn down during winter and early spring high electricity demand months and built up again during late spring and summer.
Company engineer Mike Wise describes the project as valuable not only for its ability to provide power when most needed but by the height water would drop through a tunnel called a penstock before spinning electricity-producing turbines.
“This is a high-elevation lake with the ability to generate power on demand,” said Wise.
The distance and height the water would drop is called the head in the hydro business and the more there is the better because there’s more force to turn the turbines.
“Think of it as a pipeline with a generator at the other end,” said Wise of a 4.25km tunnel that will carry the water from the lake to the generating station. Once through the station, the water will flow into the Kinskuch River, a tributary of the Nass River, its original destination.
With a key part of the plan being the ability to store water, it’s not a typical run-of-river project in which water is diverted from a river or creek before being returned. And with a projected capacity of 76 megawatts it is one of the larger independent projects being promoted in the region.
