Bersimis-2 generating station
Encyclopedia
The Bersimis-2 generating station is a dam
and a run-of-the-river
hydroelectric power station
built by Hydro-Québec
on the Betsiamites River
, in Lac-au-Brochet
, 66 km (41 mi) north of the town of Forestville, Quebec
. Construction started in 1956 and the power station was commissioned in 1959 with an initial nameplate capacity of
It is the second of two plants built by Hydro-Québec on the Betsiamites. Bersimis-2 was preceded by Bersimis-1
, built 30 km (18.6 mi) upstream between 1953 and 1956. With upgrades and further river diversions, Bersimis-2's installed capacity has been increased over time to its current capacity of
and Outardes rivers
, on the north shore
of the Saint Lawrence River
, 300 km (186.4 mi) downstream from Quebec City
. With the exception of an Innu
reserve
at Betsiamites
, at the mouth of the river
, the area is scarcely populated.
The word Betsiamites or Pessamit is from the innu language
and means "the assembly place of the lampreys". Bersimis was not used by either the Innu
s, the French
or the French Canadian
s, but was introduced by British admiral Henry Wolsey Bayfield
, in his hydrographic surveys of the Saint Lawrence River of 1837. The Hudson's Bay Company
used the name when opened a trading post
in 1855, as did the post office
in 1863. After 2 decades of efforts, residents and the Quebec government
convinced the federal government
to start using Betsiamites in 1919. But administrative use of Bersimis perdured for decades and Hydro-Québec used it in the 1950s to name its facility in the area.
Located in the Central Laurentians ecoregion of the Boreal Shield Ecozone, the hinterland
is heavily forested and dominated by softwood
species
: black spruce (Picea mariana), balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and white spruce (Picea glauca). In 1937, the Quebec government
granted a forest concession to the Anglo Canadian Pulp & Paper Co. to supply its Forestville
mill, on the coast. The area is described as "a sportsman's paradise, where fish, moose
, bear
and a host of other game creatures
abound".
in the mid-1950s, but the commissioning of the first 3 units at Bersimis-1 in the last quarter of 1956 somewhat alleviated the problem. Not wanting to get caught in another potential shortage situation, company managers decided to proceed early with two more shovel-ready projects: the first one was third and final phase of the Beauharnois generating station
, southwest of Montreal which was made possible by the simultaneous construction of the Saint Lawrence Seaway
, and Bersimis-2. The decision to build the second plant on the north shore early had the extra benefit of having both labor and equipment in place.
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
and a run-of-the-river
Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity
Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation whereby a considerably smaller water storage called pondage or none is used to supply a power station. Run-of-the-river power plants are classified as with or without pondage...
hydroelectric power station
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
built by Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec is a government-owned public utility established in 1944 by the Government of Quebec. Based in Montreal, the company is in charge of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across Quebec....
on the Betsiamites River
Betsiamites River
The Betsiamites is a river of Côte-Nord, Quebec, Canada, which joins the Saint Lawrence River.The Pipmuacan Reservoir, impounded by the Bersimis-1 Dam, is roughly halfway down its course.-Hydro-electric facilities:...
, in Lac-au-Brochet
Lac-au-Brochet, Quebec
Lac-au-Brochet is an unorganized territory in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It makes up over 83% of the La Haute-Côte-Nord Regional County Municipality....
, 66 km (41 mi) north of the town of Forestville, Quebec
Forestville, Quebec
Forestville is a town in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River along Route 138, approximately southwest of Baie-Comeau. There is a vehicle and passenger ferry service from Forestville to Rimouski, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence...
. Construction started in 1956 and the power station was commissioned in 1959 with an initial nameplate capacity of
It is the second of two plants built by Hydro-Québec on the Betsiamites. Bersimis-2 was preceded by Bersimis-1
Bersimis-1 generating station
The Bersimis-1 generating station is a dam and a hydroelectric power station built by Hydro-Québec on the Betsiamites River, in Lac-au-Brochet, north of the town of Forestville, Quebec...
, built 30 km (18.6 mi) upstream between 1953 and 1956. With upgrades and further river diversions, Bersimis-2's installed capacity has been increased over time to its current capacity of
Geography
The Betsiamites River, also known as the Bersimis, is located halfway between the SaguenaySaguenay River
The Saguenay River is a major river of Quebec, Canada.It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east, and passes the city of Saguenay. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River at Tadoussac....
and Outardes rivers
Rivière aux Outardes
The Rivière aux Outardes or Outardes River is a river in Quebec, Canada. The river originates in the Otish Mountains, and flows in a southerly direction for its entire course. It passes through Lake Plétipi and Burnt Islands Lake , and widens about midway to form the large Outardes 4 Reservoir...
, on the north shore
Côte-Nord
Côte-Nord is the second largest administrative region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Québec...
of the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
, 300 km (186.4 mi) downstream from Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
. With the exception of an Innu
Innu
The Innu are the indigenous inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan , which comprises most of the northeastern portions of the provinces of Quebec and some western portions of Labrador...
reserve
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...
at Betsiamites
Betsiamites, Quebec
Betsiamites, also known as Pessamit , is a First Nations reserve and Innu community in the Canadian province of Quebec, located about southwest from Baie-Comeau along the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Betsiamites River...
, at the mouth of the river
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
, the area is scarcely populated.
The word Betsiamites or Pessamit is from the innu language
Innu-aimun
Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian language spoken by over 11,000 people, called the Innu, in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada...
and means "the assembly place of the lampreys". Bersimis was not used by either the Innu
Innu
The Innu are the indigenous inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan , which comprises most of the northeastern portions of the provinces of Quebec and some western portions of Labrador...
s, the French
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
or the French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
s, but was introduced by British admiral Henry Wolsey Bayfield
Henry Wolsey Bayfield
Admiral Henry Wolsey Bayfield was a British naval officer and surveyor.- Early life and career :Bayfield was born in Kingston-upon-Hull, to John Wolsey Bayfield and Eliza Petit. His family was an ancient one, who at one time lived at Bayfield Hall in Norfolk...
, in his hydrographic surveys of the Saint Lawrence River of 1837. The Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
used the name when opened a trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
in 1855, as did the post office
Canada Post
Canada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post , is the Canadian crown corporation which functions as the country's primary postal operator...
in 1863. After 2 decades of efforts, residents and the Quebec government
Government of Quebec
The Government of Quebec refers to the provincial government of the province of Quebec. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
convinced the federal government
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
to start using Betsiamites in 1919. But administrative use of Bersimis perdured for decades and Hydro-Québec used it in the 1950s to name its facility in the area.
Located in the Central Laurentians ecoregion of the Boreal Shield Ecozone, the hinterland
Hinterland
The hinterland is the land or district behind a coast or the shoreline of a river. Specifically, by the doctrine of the hinterland, the word is applied to the inland region lying behind a port, claimed by the state that owns the coast. The area from which products are delivered to a port for...
is heavily forested and dominated by softwood
Softwood
The term softwood is used to describe wood from trees that are known as gymnosperms.Conifers are an example. It may also be used to describe trees, which tend to be evergreen, notable exceptions being bald cypress and the larches....
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
: black spruce (Picea mariana), balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and white spruce (Picea glauca). In 1937, the Quebec government
Government of Quebec
The Government of Quebec refers to the provincial government of the province of Quebec. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
granted a forest concession to the Anglo Canadian Pulp & Paper Co. to supply its Forestville
Forestville, Quebec
Forestville is a town in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River along Route 138, approximately southwest of Baie-Comeau. There is a vehicle and passenger ferry service from Forestville to Rimouski, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence...
mill, on the coast. The area is described as "a sportsman's paradise, where fish, moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
, bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
and a host of other game creatures
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
abound".
Background
With a continued surge of demand, electricity supplies remained a concern at Hydro-Québec and other Quebec-based utilitiesPublic utility
A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
in the mid-1950s, but the commissioning of the first 3 units at Bersimis-1 in the last quarter of 1956 somewhat alleviated the problem. Not wanting to get caught in another potential shortage situation, company managers decided to proceed early with two more shovel-ready projects: the first one was third and final phase of the Beauharnois generating station
Beauharnois Hydroelectric Power Station
The Beauharnois Hydroelectric Power Station is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station along the Saint Lawrence Seaway on the Saint Lawrence River, in Quebec, Canada. The station was built in three phases, and comprises 38 turbines, capable of generating up to of electrical power...
, southwest of Montreal which was made possible by the simultaneous construction of the Saint Lawrence Seaway
Saint Lawrence Seaway
The Saint Lawrence Seaway , , is the common name for a system of locks, canals and channels that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the North American Great Lakes, as far as Lake Superior. Legally it extends from Montreal to Lake Erie, including the Welland Canal...
, and Bersimis-2. The decision to build the second plant on the north shore early had the extra benefit of having both labor and equipment in place.
See also
- Bersimis-1 generating stationBersimis-1 generating stationThe Bersimis-1 generating station is a dam and a hydroelectric power station built by Hydro-Québec on the Betsiamites River, in Lac-au-Brochet, north of the town of Forestville, Quebec...
- History of Hydro-QuébecHistory of Hydro-QuébecHydro-Québec is a government-owned public utility established in 1944 by the Government of Quebec. The company is in charge of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across Quebec. Its head office is located in Montreal.-Origins:...
- List of power stations in Quebec
- List of conventional hydroelectric power stations