The $900m expansion project was executed in collaboration with Columbia Power and Columbia Basin Trust, and was completed six weeks ahead of schedule and on budget.
The project included construction of a 10km, 230kV transmission line and provides sufficient energy to power approximately 60,000 homes per year.
According to Fortis, which has a 51% controlling ownership interest in the Waneta Expansion, the facility is currently online and generating power.
All of the output of the Waneta Expansion is scheduled to be sold to BC Hydro and FortisBC under 40-year contracts.
The Waneta Expansion project adds a second powerhouse, immediately downstream of the Waneta Dam on the Pend d’Oreille River, which shares the existing hydraulic head and generates clean, renewable, cost-effective power from water that would otherwise be spilled.
