The Jean-Lesage generating station, formerly known as Manic-2, is a dam located 22 km from Baie-Comeau built on Manicouagan River

Manicouagan River

The Manicouagan River is a river in Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. The river originates at the Daniel-Johnson Dam of the Manicouagan Reservoir and flows approximately south, emptying into the Saint Lawrence River near Baie-Comeau...

 in Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It was constructed between 1961 and 1967. On June 22, 2010, the dam and the generating station were renamed to honor former Quebec premier Jean Lesage

Jean Lesage

Jean Lesage, PC, CC, CD was a lawyer and politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 19th Premier of Quebec from 22 June 1960, to 16 August 1966...

, who was premier of Quebec during the construction of the complex.

Description

Jean-Lesage is a gravity dam

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...

 "hollow type" with a spillway made of concrete. The reservoir starts at the base of Manic-3

Manic-3

The René-Lévesque generating station, formerly known as Manic-3, is a hydroelectricity generating station located 75 km from Baie-Comeau built on Manicouagan River between 1970 and 1976...

. The dam is considered run-of-the-river and is fitted with eight Francis turbine

Francis turbine

The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine that was developed by James B. Francis in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts....

s, with a total capacity of 1145 megawatts.

Construction and commissioning

Construction started on October 24 1961. From June 2 to December 8 1962, diversion tunnels were driven through the mountain to divert the river's flow around the construction site. The cofferdam that forced the to water use the diversion tunnels was completed on July 30 1963, construction of the dam started the day after. By autumn 1965, the dam and powerhouse were sufficiently complete to put the first group of five turbines into service, the others were put in service at the end of construction. Commissioning was completed in 1967.

Tourism

It is possible to visit the complex during summer between the end of June and start of September. The 90 minutes visit consists of a guided tour by Hydro-Quebec which lets the visitor enter cavities of the dam and see a turbine in action within the powerhouse.

External links

Pictures and information from Hydro-Quebec Information on guided tour Google Maps view