The Dryden hydro power facility was originally built more than 70 years ago to serve the region's pulp and paper industry.

Hydro power facilities generally have low operational and maintenance costs as well as a very long service life. These two characteristics help to make hydro power facilities an attractive investment opportunity as well as economical for ratepayers.

The Dryden hydro power facility, which sells the electricity it generates to the Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation, originally dates to the 1920s and 1930s, when it was built to provide power to the pulp and paper industry in the town of Dryden, Ontario. This 3 MW facility is comprised of three run-of-river generating stations: Eagle River, McKenzie Falls and Wainwright.

While the Dryden facility was refurbished in 1986, the turbine and supporting systems at the Wainwright station are about 50 years old. Through late 2009 and early 2010, MPT replaced the turbine at the 1 MW Wainwright station.

According to Rob Roberti, Senior Vice President, Macquarie Capital Funds, who manages MPT's hydro power facilities, it is not uncommon for turbines to operate for this long. “Turbines of this kind typically have a useful life of about 30 years, which can be extended to an average of 50 years through regular maintenance and repairs. The Eagle River station, for example, still has its original turbine from the 1920s.”

With the completion of the Wainwright project, which included the design, manufacture and installation of a new turbine and distributer system, the Wainwright station is expected to continue to operate smoothly for decades.

Did you know?

Two-thirds of electricity in Canada is derived from hydro power. According to the Hydro Power Association of Canada, replacing the electricity generated by hydro power facilities in Canada today would require 560 million barrels of oil annually.

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