Waneta Dam

The Waneta Dam is a concrete gravity-type hydroelectric dam on the Pend d'Oreille River in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It lies 9.5 kilometres (6 mi) downstream of Seven Mile Dam at the Pend d'Oreille's confluence with the Columbia River. It is located about 12.5 kilometres (8 mi) southeast of Trail and 0.35 kilometres (0.2 mi) north of the U.S. border at Washington.

Waneta Dam
Coordinates49.0041°N 117.6116°W / 49.0041; -117.6116
Opening date1954[1]
Owner(s)BC Hydro
Operator(s)Teck Resources,[2] BC Hydro
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsPend d'Oreille
Height76 metres (249 ft)[1]
Power Station
Installed capacity490 MW
Capacity factor46.1%
Annual generation1.98 TWh (7.1 PJ)[3]

It supplies electric power to Teck Resources metallurgical operations at Trail, British Columbia and for BC Hydro which since 2010 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.

BC Hydro Purchase

In 2010, BC Hydro purchased a one-third interest in the Waneta Dam from Teck Resources for a price of $825 million[5][6]

On August 1, 2017, BC Hydro announced its intention to purchase the remaining two-thirds interest in the dam from Teck for a price of $1.2 billion.[5] Teck's Trail, British Columbia smelter will continue to use two-thirds of the electricity generated by the dam, continuing the terms of the previous agreement.

In July 2018, the sale of the remaining two thirds interest from Teck to BC Hydro was finalized for $1.2 billion.[7]

Waneta Expansion
Main article: Waneta Dam Expansion

Construction of a separate two-unit powerplant commenced in Winter of 2010/11 to increase the dam's generating capacity by an additional 335 megawatts. This project, 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 designed and built the project which came online in 2015.

See also

References
  1. "Waneta Dam". Virtual Museum. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019.
  2. Generation, FortisBC
  3. "Waneta". Carbon Monitoring for Action. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  4. Hydroelectric Plants in Canada - British Columbia, Power Plants around the World
  5. "BC Hydro plan to purchase remaining two-third interest in Waneta Dam will keep rates affordable". BC Hydro. Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  6. "BC Hydro's $825 Million Dam Deal". The Tyee. June 26, 2009. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  7. "BC Hydro purchases remaining interest in Waneta Dam and Generating Station". BC Hydro. Archived from the original on January 28, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
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