Kemano Generating Station

Kemano Generating Station   (Other names) Kemano I Kemano project Nechako-Kemano project Kemano Hydro Project Kemano Powerhouse Kemano power station Kemano Diversion Kemano-Kitimat hydro Kemano System Kemano hydroelectric plant Kemano generating facility Kemano generating plant Kemano Generating Station - is used by BC Hydro and the Province of British Columbia in legal documents. Because the Kenney Dam and the Kemano powerhouse are miles apart and not connected, they don't share any name.
Location within British Columbia
Location	Kemano, British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates	53°33′47.8″N 127°56′31.8″W / 53.563278°N 127.942167°W / 53.563278; -127.942167Coordinates: 53°33′47.8″N 127°56′31.8″W / 53.563278°N 127.942167°W / 53.563278; -127.942167
Opening date	1954
Reservoir
Creates	Nechako Reservoir
Total capacity	32.7 km3 (26,500,000 acre·ft)
Power station
Operator(s)	Rio Tinto Alcan
Hydraulic head	790 M
Turbines	8
Installed capacity	890 MW (max.)

The Kemano Generating Station is situated 75 km (47 mi) southeast of Kitimat in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was completed in 1954, providing hydroelectricity for Alcan's Kitimat Aluminum smelter. The powerhouse is built in a cavern created 427 m (1,400 ft) inside the base of Mt Dubose. It produces 896 MW of power from its eight generator units, each of which has a capacity of 112MW. It was the largest producer in the province when it was built, and is now the fifth largest electrical plant in British Columbia.

The Kemano I project was made possible by constructing the largest rockfill dam in the world at the time, the Kenney Dam on the east side of the Nechako reservoir, some 120 miles to the east. On the west side of the Nechako reservoir, a 16-kilometre (9.9 mi) long water intake tunnel running through the Coast Mountain range diverts river water to for a huge 2,600-foot (790 m) vertical drop to the power station at the former company town of Kemano, BC. In 1995, the provincial government cancelled the Kemano Completion Project (Kemano II) that Alcan had been planning since 1987.

The smelter at Kitimat consumes about 80-85% of the plant's electricity, the balance is sold to BC Hydro's Powerex.