Construction Progress

First Powerhouse Rotor in Place at Muskrat Falls

Thanks to the hard work of the turbine and generator teams at Muskrat Falls, the rotor for Unit 1 has been installed in the powerhouse. The 1.8 m tall and 614 metric tonne rotor has the same mass as about six blue whales. With the rotor attached to the turbine the total rotating mass of each unit is approximately 1,175 tonnes.

A generator contains two major parts: the stator and the rotor. The stator is fixed in place and the rotor moves.  The rotor is made of electromagnets and as it rotates inside the stator, at a speed of 85.714 rpm (which matches the frequency of the output power to the electricity grid), it produces an electric current. This electric current is produced in the stator, which consists of windings of copper conductors.  

Each generator is rated at 206 megawatts (MW) under standard conditions, so the four unit Muskrat Falls plant is rated at 824 MW.

This is a significant step in the assembly and installation of the four turbine and generator units at Muskrat Falls. First power is expected from Unit 1 later this year.

 

Final Concrete Poured in the Powerhouse

Thanks to the tremendous efforts of our tradespeople, contractors, unions and team members, all the concrete required for the Muskrat Falls Powerhouse has now been poured. A total of 168,000m³ of concrete was poured in the Powerhouse. This amount combined with the 147,000m³ of concrete that was poured for the Intake (the area where the water enters the Powerhouse) makes 315,000m³ of concrete placed in the generation facility. That’s equivalent to about 8 CN towers. This significant milestone was made possible by the hard work and dedication of those working on the Muskrat Falls generation project.

First Turbine Installed in Muskrat Falls Powerhouse

Thanks to the teams working on the turbine and generators in the Muskrat Falls powerhouse, the turbine has been placed into Unit 1 of the powerhouse. The 12 metre tall and 420 metric tonne turbine is the same weight of about 140 pickup trucks. The heaviest lift so far in the powerhouse required both of the overhead cranes working together to lower the turbine into Unit 1.

Each turbine and generator set is rated for 206 MW …for a maximum rated output of 824 megawatts.