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Hydroelectric energy
Hydroelectric power in Manitoba comes from water falling through turbines within a dam.
Advantages
This process does not generate any greenhouse gases (GHG) during operation.
Difficulties
GHG are produced if trees and plants are flooded by the reservoir above the dam. As these flooded plants decompose, they generate carbon dioxide and possibly methane. Once this decomposition is complete, no more GHG are produced.
Excluding the Wuskwatim Dam, which is currently under construction, all new development projects would require additional high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines from generation stations in the north to demand areas in the south.
On September 25, 2007, Hydro announced that they would build a new HVDC line on the west side of the province. This route is an alternative to the shorter route on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. Although the east side route would be more direct (and cheaper) it would have cut through an ecologically and culturally sensitive area. The new "BiPole III" line should be completed by 2017.
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Current situation
Hydro is synonymous with electricity in a Manitoban’s vocabulary. 98% of our electricity comes from 14 hydroelectric generating stations on the Nelson, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, and Laurie rivers. (1)
Currently, Manitoba Hydro has about 5,000 megawatts (MW) of hydroelectric generating capacity. (2)
Peak demand within Manitoba reached a record 4,250 MW on January 30, 2008. (3) (NOTE: This number is "unofficial". It may change slightly
once all the calculations
that account for transmission losses, station use, etc.
are finalized and published in Manitoba Hydro's annual report.)
The province's previous record of 4,170 MW was set in the winter of 2006-7. (2)
Manitoba Hydro exports its surplus power to neighbouring provinces and the mid-western United States, where much electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels. Manitoba Hydro’s exports thus reduce the amount of fossil fuel-generated electricity needed by these out-of-province clients and consequently reduce the amount of greenhouse gases produced.
So, even though Manitoban's electricity comes from hydro, reducing our demand reduces fossil fuel burning by making more power available for Hydro to export.
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Future
A further 5,000 MW of hydroelectric power could still be developed in Manitoba. These are all on the lower Nelson River. This includes:
- Conawapa - 1,380 MW - Conawapa will require no significant water storage upstream and will only cause about 5 sq. km of flooding, almost entirely within the natural banks of the Nelson River. (4)
- Gillam Island - 1,000 MW
- Keeyask - 630 MW
- Wuskwatim - 200 MW - Wuskwatim would only cause 0.37 sq. km of flooding (smaller than the gross building
area of “Mall of America”
in Minneapolis)
The output of these developments would be used primarily for electric power exports, since the growth of Manitoba’s domestic demand will not require this capacity for at least a generation.
