A second power station was planned for the small town of Queenston, construction began on the Sir Adam Beck Power Station No. 2 in December of 1950. The station was built just south of the Sir Adam Beck Power Station No. 1 along the river’s edge. Adam Beck No. 2 would be far bigger and more powerful than its predecessor. It consisted of 16 generators with a total capacity of 1,223,600 kilowatts of electricity. The station itself is mammoth at 1,150 feet long, 63 feet wide and is 135 feet high, and is certainly a sight worth seeing.
Water is collected by two gathering tubes each 500 feet long, which supply water at a rate of 7,500,000 gallons a minute to twin intake tunnels located in the Niagara River at Chippawa, the tunnels than feed the water into an open-cut canal.
A 750 acre above ground reservoir was constructed to hold water that the plant collects during the evening hours. An agreement was reached between the governments of Canada and the United States with Ontario Hydro and the New York Power Authority, in which the companies agreed to reduce the amount of water collected during the peak daytime hours in the summer months. During this time a minimum of 100,000 cubic feet of water flows over the Falls every second. This is reduced to 50,000 cubic feet per second in the evening when the companies collect enough water to maintain the levels of water needed for hydro-generation. The water is released from the reservoir during the day when water flow is increased to the Falls in order to keep a constant level of water flowing to the generators.
The plant began generating power in March of 1954, and at this time it was the largest hydro-electric generating station in the world.
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