The Conawapa Generating Station would be the largest hydro-electric project ever built in northern Manitoba. It would be capable of generating 1380 MW of electricity at a site on the Lower Nelson River, 28 kilometres downstream of the Limestone Generating Station and 90 kilometres downstream of Gillam. Conawapa will require no significant water storage upstream and will cause limited flooding (approximately 5 sq. km) of land beyond the natural banks of the Nelson River.
Photo of the site.
Generated power would be transmitted over a high voltage transmission line to be constructed as part of a related export interconnection project.
The projected in-service date for the project is 2017. Construction would take 8 - 8.5 years. The estimated in-service cost of the generating station is $3.4 billion, plus possibly up to $2.5 billion for the transmission facilities. The generating station is expected to create an estimated 5,400 person years of construction employment over the 8 - 8.5 year period. A large number of these job opportunities will be filled by northern residents with qualified northern Aboriginal workers having first preference for jobs. No final Conawapa development, design or construction decisions have been made. Routes of construction power lines, collector lines, long distance HVDC lines, and the location of converter stations have not been determined.