Power to the people

Wreck Cove marks 40 years of producing hydroelectric power

Nova Scotia Power is recognizing the 40th anniversary of the first energy produced at the Wreck Cove Hydro Station.

Carved into a granite mountain in Victoria County, south of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, it is Nova Scotia’s largest hydroelectric plant. The station produced its first energy on March 27, 1978.

“There are 33 hydro stations across Nova Scotia, with a total capacity of 400 megawatts,” Mark Sidebottom, chief operating officer at Nova Scotia Power, said in a news release.

“Wreck Cove makes up half of that. It’s a very important player on our electrical grid that provides reliable, renewable energy needed to complement and back up the 600 megawatts of clean – but unpredictable – wind power on our system.”

The Wreck Cove facility has a total generating capacity of 222 megawatts, producing on average 318 million kilowatt hours annually — enough energy to power about 30,000 homes.

“I’m continually impressed by the team’s talent and skill as they safely work to keep this 40-year old generating station functioning properly so that it’s available for electricity generation when our customers need it most,” Sidebottom said.

The plant is an impressive feat of engineering. The powerhouse is located 275 metres underground via a 620 metre tunnel.

Between 1975 and 1978, south of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, when more than 2.5 million cubic metres of rock were blasted and removed to construct the facility’s 11 major dams.

It required one of the largest fleets of earth-moving equipment in Nova Scotia’s history and employed approximately 900 people.