Forrest Kerr, BC – Hydroelectric Project for Alta Gas

Forrest Kerr Hydroelectric Project – Photo: Alta Gas

Alta Gas, a leading North American energy infrastructure company, contacted the AXISTECH Team in early 2015 regarding several BC Hydro facilities that required fibre optic termination testing and installation. The three facilities, Forrest Kerr, Volcano Creek, and McLymont Creek, are all located 1,000 km northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

AXISTECH quickly dispatched one of their top “large project foreman”, David Mayhew, who specializes in Outside Fibre-Optic Installation Capabilities, to the Forrest Kerr facility to ascertain the specific challenges of the BC Hydro structure. After weeks of extensive fibre-optic assessment, design, plan and installation, the six-turbine Forrest Kerr plant was nearing completion.

As deadlines were very pressing the AXISTECH team stepped up and completed a much larger scope than originally anticipated. The team provided Cisco network switches, specialty fiber converters, communications equipment and specialty cables. The fiber team terminated OPGW  fiber cables which are run with the power lines with the ground conductor.

AXISTECH also installed and completed controls wiring and gave on site support to various equipment commissioning teams. AXIS Technical Services rotate teams in and out of the facility to provide continuous presence 7 days a week, 10 hours a day for four months. Subsequently, AXISTECH was rewarded with the following two additional sites – Volcano Creek and McLymont Creek. Through the entire installation process the AXISTECH team adhered to the strict safety-first policies required in all industrial environments.

Construction of the underground Powerhouse (April 2013) – Photo: Alta Gas

Site monitoring was a core strategy in the next stage of this multi-million dollar Forrest Kerr hydroelectric plant. The Teams wanted to ensure the surrounding areas and river were also equipped with a security and surveillance system complete with CCTV Cameras and real-time remote monitoring of the facility, grounds and river blockages. In-turn, AXISTECH custom-designed and installed Forrest Kerr’s first technology-driven surveillance and monitoring system.

According to AltaGas.ca: “The project will capture the immense energy generated by the natural flow and elevation drop of the Iskut River to produce and deliver clean, renewable power to the grid at Bob Quinn Lake via BC Hydro’s proposed 287-kV Northwest Transmission Line (NTL).”

Alta Gas has three locations requiring large–scale communication infrastructure capabilities. The first site is Forrest Kerr, an impressive industrial environmental plant located on Iskut River approximately 1,000 km northwest of Vancouver; Forrest Kerr is a 195 megawatts run-of-river hydroelectric project. The second is Volcano Creek, located close to the Forrest Kerr facility; the Volcano Creek Project is a run-of-river hydroelectric facility with a targeted output of 16 megawatts. The third project is McLymont Creek, also nearby Forrest Kerr and Volcano Creek; McLymont is a run-of-river hydroelectric facility with a targeted output of 66 megawatts.

According to AltaGas.ca: “The Forrest Kerr project will contribute to the Province of British Columbia’s goal to achieve energy self-sufficiency by 2016. The project will also help the Province of BC meet its clean energy needs in an environmentally and socially responsible manner by offsetting the use of electricity generated from fossil fuels.”  

The Alta Gas Forrest Kerr hydroelectric project was completed during the Spring of 2015.

Learn More on Forrest Kerr at AltaGas.ca

See Press Release at 24-7PressRelease.com

Call 604 559 AXIS (2947) or Email ROI[at]AXISTECH.ca to Schedule a Needs Assessment with out Ownership Team.