Rio Tinto Begins Construction of New 225-Megawatt Hydro Turbine at Shipshaw Plant in Canada

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Rio Tinto plc (NYSE:RTP) (London) is investing $228 million in the construction of a new Alstom 225-megawatt (MW) high-efficiency turbine that will be installed at the Shipshaw Power Station in Saguenay, Quebec.

The plant is owned by the largest independent producer of hydroelectricity in Quebec, Rio Tinto Alcan (Montreal, Quebec). The project, which began construction two weeks ago, entails the addition of a new high-efficiency 225-MW turbine, including the construction of a 245-meter water-intake tunnel for penstock installation, the construction of a powerhouse building to shelter the turbine and auxiliary equipment and a tailrace returning the water to the main stream. The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2012.

In 1926, with an output of 896 MW, the Shipshaw Hydropower Plant was the most powerful in the world with 12 hydro generators. The plant is now a major component of Rio Tinto Alcan's hydroelectric network, which has an installed capacity of around 2,900 MW in Quebec.

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