Automation at its Best

Located along the Ottawa River north of Renfrew, the eight unit station takes its name from the French plural word for ‘channel’ - a reference to the powerful rapids the facility has harnessed to generate clean, renewable electricity for nearly 150,000 homes.

Initial construction of the station began in 1948 and included a concrete pour large enough to build a 1,400 km sidewalk. The units were placed into service in the early 1950s.

ANDRITZ Hydro automation is very familiar with the project as its falls into the core product line of controls and protection systems. Following a site visit,it was noted that the controls and protections were original with the exception of two units which were upgraded in the mid-1990s.

The solution proposed to the client was a complete removal of the existing control and protection equipment and its replacement with new unit and plant control panels. This includes protection panels, remote I/O panels, communication racks, and DC terminal racks, all fully integrated into the local and remote control station. As with most projects, the SCADA system is to be designed and programmed locally in Chambly.

A two-step installation approach is being used as half the equipment will be installed in 2018 with the remainder in 2019. ANDRITZ Hydro is providing full turnkey services to OPG including site installation and commissioning services. Commissioning of the last two units is currently scheduled for October 2019.

This order strengthens the relationship with the customer, for which ANDRITZ Hydro has already executed some projects. And it also represents an interesting automation reference for ANDRITZ Hydro Canada in Chambly.

Author: Giovanni Giummarra