New hydro station to power up Pic River First Nation.

• Author: Louiseize, Kelly
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT: CONSTRUCTION

Ojibways of Pic River First Nation has announced the construction of a new environmentally friendly 23-megawatt power generating station on the White River, approximately 30 kilometres from Marathon.

The project is being developed by Begetekong Power Corp. a joint venture between Pic River First Nation and Innergex II Income Fund.

Begetekong is a community-based business holding 51 per cent of the partnership and 49 per cent is held by Montreal-based Innergex II Income Fund.

At peak activity there will be a maximum of 60 tradespeople on the construction site, project manager for CRT Construction Alain Labonte says. Currently 20 workers are clearing for transmission line development and a 30-kilometre roadway. Over the next few weeks the powerhouse lands and the intake infrastructure will be cleared. Civil engineering work was anticipated to be completed by late July or early August.

The community has a very active and robust labour force, Labonte says. The people are versed in equipment operating as a result of past experiences with the Hemlo gold deposit located next to the community.

"Our problem is that we do not have enough people here," says Begetekong Power Corp. vice-president Byron LeClair.

"Where we can't fit a need, companies are bringing in their own labourers."

The footprint of the project is relatively small.

The White River water system is 53 kilometres long and the project will occupy 900 metres of that river system.

Currently, the river flows into a natural gorge. The aim is to build a dam at the gorge site to redirect the river into an intake channel, which will be located 32 metres higher than the powerhouse, LeClair says.

This process elevates the water to an artificial level, flooding a small portion of the area, which usually incurs water during spring. The river will be redirected into the intake channel, which will flow into an excavated tunnel.

The tunnel then takes the river's water and delivers it to the powerhouse where turbines and generators produce electricity at a maximum flow of 85...