Gilliam Keeyask Hydroelectric Generating Station

BBE Hydro Constructors LP (BBE), the team that EllisDon is a partner of, has been awarded a contract worth approximately CAN $1.4 billion by Manitoba Hydro. The Keeyask Hydroelectric Generating Station is being built on the lower Nelson River in Northern Manitoba and will be a source of renewable energy, providing approximately 695 megawatts of capacity and producing an average of 4,400 gigawatt hours of electricity each year.  The Keeyask project is the largest capital investment project in the history of the Province of Manitoba. The Project is being developed in Partnership​ with four First Nations communities, and is the largest hydroelectric project built in Manitoba in 30 years. The powerhouse’s seven units will be capable of producing enough electricity to supply about 400,000 homes.

After contributing to design completion through an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) phase, EllisDon and their team are now constructing the new 695 megawatt powerhouse, a new spillway structure with seven bays, three zoned rockfill dams with till cores, cofferdams that reroute the powerful Lower Nelson River during construction, and earthfill dykes, totaling 23 km, that will contain the powerhouse forebay. The powerhouse will house seven Voith Hydro units. The new spillway will include motorized vertical lift gates, a bridge and a permanent roadway on top, and seven ogee sections that will be poured after the diversion of the river. The project’s remote location (roughly 725 km northeast of Winnipeg) requires the construction of a 2,000-person camp. The team must also address the challenging logistics of material and personnel scheduling and delivery.

Work covered under the general civil contract includes rock excavation, concrete for the powerhouse and spillway, earthen structures, electrical and mechanical work, and the construction and removal of temporary cofferdams needed to manage the river flow during construction.