Niagara Tunnel: An Engineering Marvel with No Parallels

Muscling its way through the rugged terrains of Niagara River, the Niagara Tunnel is now gushing in 500 cubic metres of water per second to the Sir Adam Beck Generating Station in Ontario, Canada. As high as a four storey building, the tunnel is a part of the remarkable Niagara Tunnel Project, one of its kind initiative not only in Ontario but the entire world. Well, this is more than just good news for the Ontario Government which is now harnessing clean and renewable energy which is slated to last for the next 100 years. The new tunnel will increase the power supply for owner Ontario Power Generation (OPG) by 150 MW and will help to bolster the current power system, which is close to exceeding its capacity during peak months.

Fully functional now, the tunnel is the realization of a long time dream of Canadians, who wanted to exploit optimum hydro-potential of the Niagara River, which forms an international border between Canada and the USA. Way back in the 1950s, the two countries had signed the Niagara Treaty to share the river's water. Barring Niagara Falls, which account for one third of the river, the remaining two-thirds of the water was equally divided between both the neighbouring countries.