Clean electricity has been a cornerstone of British Columbia’s economy and quality of life for generations. The Site C Project, a third dam and hydroelectric generating station on the Peace River in northeast B.C., will be a source of clean, renewable and affordable electricity in B.C. for more than 100 years.
Site C will be a third dam and generating station on the Peace River in northeast B.C. The project will provide 1,100 megawatts of capacity and about 5,100 gigawatt hours of energy each year to the province’s integrated electricity system. Construction of the project started in summer 2015.
The project will require massive amounts of concrete to complete. It will have over 1 million cubic yards in poured concrete as well as hundreds of thousands of yards of roller compacted concrete – not only for the structure of the dam itself, the supporting structures and the foundation. The lack of bedrock at the site requires placing large amounts of roller compacted concrete to give the project weight and body to hold it in place and enhance seismic protection.
Con Forms was actively involved in the bidding process from the beginning, talking to all bidders about the concrete pumping aspects of the project. Our expertise, experience, and reputation of reliability in the industry made us a credible consultant in this area. Once the major contracts were awarded to joint-venture partnerships, Con Forms was positioned to further advise them on safe, efficient, and reliable means of placing concrete.
When it came to moving concrete, only a handful of pumping companies were positioned to take on the challenge of handling such a large undertaking. Of the 3 pumping companies that ended up actively pursuing the project, all 3 told the qualified bidders that the only way they would do the project was with Con Forms pipe. Priority/ Action JV Concrete Pumping Ltd. was ultimately awarded the job and is currently pumping the powerhouse with Con Forms product.
Con Forms product is also being used to help reinforce the diversion tunnels, which will temporarily reroute a short section of the Peace River so they can build the dam across the river bed on dry land. Our full line of concrete pump products are being used on everything from shotcrete to pouring the final lining of the diversion tunnels, which measure 10.8 meters in diameter and over 700 meters in length.
Work continues on the project, and Con Forms continues to offer product and consulting to the companies involved to ensure a safe and efficient completion of all concrete pours. The requirement of Con Forms product on a job of this scale is testament to the quality that we offer. It is simply unrivaled in the industry when it comes to high-pressure, high-demand jobs where safety and reliability are of the utmost importance.
Site C is expected to be completed in 2024.
