Operation of the Multi-Intake Box Canyon Run-of-River Hydroelectric Project to Meet Environmental Commitments

Operation of the Multi-Intake Box Canyon Run-of-River Hydroelectric Project to Meet Environmental Commitments

Author: Toby Perkins
Conference: HydroVision 2017
Date: June 27-30, 2017

ABSTRACT
The Box Canyon Hydroelectric Project is a 16 MW run-of-river facility located in the McNab Creek watershed on the north side of Howe Sound, British Columbia, Canada. The Project includes intake structures on three of the tributaries to McNab Creek (Box Canyon, Marty and Cascara Creeks) as well as six minor tributary diversions, all of which feed into a single high pressure penstock to direct water to the powerhouse. With this arrangement, it may have the most hydraulically complex design of any run-of-river hydroelectric project in North America, if not the world. The powerhouse includes a single, multi-jet Pelton turbine and water is returned to McNab Creek. The Project is connected to the BC Hydro transmission system via a 2.8 km long, 138 kV transmission line.

Knight Piésold Ltd. was retained by the owner, Box Canyon Hydro Corporation (a subsidiary of Elemental Energy) to assist with 1) concept development, environmental assessment and permitting, 2) detailed design, and 3) operational monitoring of the facility. The Project was commissioned in early 2016.

Under the Project’s Water License, the Project has maximum allowable diversion rates, minimum instream flow requirements (IFR) and maximum flow ramping rates. These requirements are different for each intake and in McNab Creek, due to differences in hydrology, river morphology and fish species distribution.

The IFR requirement at each intake is controlled by the intake design to ensure that IFR is released as priority before water is able to be diverted for power generation. Similarly, the maximum diversion rate is controlled by the intake design, which passively limits the maximum amount of water that is able to enter the penstock. However, flow ramping must be controlled by plant operation. This paper will provide an overview of the Project’s key Water License commitments and how the Project was designed and is operated to meet these commitments.

 

Download the full technical paper.

Download

Perspectivas recientes

Febrero 2024
Empoderamiento y Resiliencia
Enero 2024
Balancing Act: Water Usage Management Vital for a Sustainable Future
Enero 2024
A Difficult Balance Between Engineering, Environmental, Social and Economic Aspects
Noviembre 2023
Knight Piésold Commences with the ESIA for Haib Copper
Noviembre 2023
Insights from the Compilation and Critical Assessment of Breach and Runout Characteristics from Historical Tailings Dam Failures: Implications for Numerical Modelling
Noviembre 2023
Earthquake-induced Deformation Analysis of a TSF Undergoing Tailings Reprocessing
Noviembre 2023
Case Study: Approach to Determining the Risk Mitigation Priority of a Historic TSF in North America
Octubre 2023
Data Management and Insights for Effective Tailings Storage Facility Management
Octubre 2023
The Role of Sensitivity Analysis in Selecting Dam Breach Parameters
Octubre 2023
Influence of Increased Confining Stress on Undrained Behavior of Tailings: A Case History at the Candelaria Mine
Octubre 2023
The Re-use of Existing Bituminous Stabilised Materials for the Rehabilitation of National Route 7 - Case Study
Septiembre 2023
Transición energética para gerentes de mina
Agosto 2023
Interview: Guillermo Barreda, Gerente General, Knight Piésold Perú
Julio 2023
Selection of Soil Shear Strength Parameters Based on Integrated In Situ Tests, Lab Tests and Numerical Calibration Approach
Junio 2023
Leveraging Knowledge and Experience of a Well-Formed Independent Tailings Review Board to Enhance Tailings Facility Safety
Mayo 2023
Is the Implementation of Dry Stacking for Tailings Storage Increasing? A Southern African Perspective
Febrero 2023
Canadian Consulting Engineer's Lifetime Achievement Awards: Jeremy Haile
Febrero 2023
Geotechnical Characterization of Collapsible Salty Sands Subjected to Monotonic and Cyclic Loadings – A Case Study for Areas with High Seismicity
Noviembre 2022
Application of the 3D Limit Equilibrium Method in Tailings Dam Breach Analysis
Noviembre 2022
Evaluation of Tailings Behaviour for Dam Breach Assessment