Churchill Falls - A Rare Natural Resource

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Churchill River prior to diversion. Grand Falls was later named Hamilton Falls and finally named Churchill Falls in honor of former British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill.

There are many rivers and waterfalls the world over, but few possess the two major components (drop plus volume) necessary for the production of hydroelectric power. Grand Coulee in the United States, Krasnoyarsk in the Soviet Union and Churchill Falls in Labrador are three of the very few rivers that combine both of these rare natural phenomena.

In the case of Churchill, nature provided the raw materials, an easily-stored large volume of water, and a large enough drop to turn the turbines; however, man and money were required to turn the raw materials into a hydroelectric production plant.

The problem with Churchill Falls was never how to harness the river to produce hydroelectric power, the problem was (1) delivering materials and workers to the remote site, (2) the inhospitable environment, (3) a means to deliver the product to urban areas, (4) enough customers to make it a profitable project, (5) and finding financial backing for such a mammoth investment. This changed in the mid-1960s. At that time, overland transmission, a quickly expanding customer base, and the means to transport equipment in and out of the area were now possible. It quickly became evident that not only Churchill but other remote hydroelectric projects would be quickly needed to fulfill the energy needed in both Canada and the US.

1. They received access to this remote area in 1954 when IOCC built the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway.
2. In the early 1960's, Twin Falls Power Development was created on the Unknown River to supply power to IOCC. This is where experience and insight were gained to develop hydroelectricity in sub-arctic environment. It was still going to be sub-arctic with long winters and cool, wet summers; however, the problems were no longer considered insurmountable.
3. In the mid 1960's, Hydro Quebec developed extra high voltage transmission technology, so the product could now be shipped to customers.
4. Hydro-Quebec agreed to become the primary customer and distributor of the power when they signed a Letter of Intent on October 13, 1966.
5. Because of the above, financial backing had a guarantee of eventual return-on-investment.