Site C Clean Energy Project, Design Overview

December 14, 2020

This paper provides an overview of the design of the Site C Clean Energy Project. The Project is an 1100 MW hydroelectric generating facility under construction on the Peace River near Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada. The Project layout is strongly influenced by the geological and hydraulic requirements at the site. On the left (north) abutment the project includes a large excavation for slope stabilisation as well as two diversion tunnels, one of which will be converted with the construction of orifices and later used for reservoir filling. A 60 m high earthfill dam spans the main river channel, and which abuts concrete structures on the right (south) abutment. The project spillway and power intakes for a six unit powerhouse are fed by a large approach channel on the right abutment. The spillway includes a two-stage stilling basin with surface radial gates and vertical lift low level gates, as well as a free crest spillway. The configuration of the site includes an inclined “RCC buttress” supporting the headworks structures, powerhouse and spillway structures. The project also includes an instrumentation program with an initial focus on capturing rebound and movement resulting from project excavations, and a long-term purpose of monitoring during operation. Watson, A.D., G. W. Stevenson and A. Hanna. 2019. “Site C Clean Energy Project, Design Overview,” in Proceedings of the 87th Annual Meeting of International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), 9-14 June 2019. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Dam Association.