Backgrounder - Quick Facts – Muskrat Falls Development Generation and Transmission

Generation

The Muskrat Falls Generating Station will have a capacity of 824 megawatts and annual energy production of 4.9 terawatt hours.
A concrete dam will be constructed in two sections with the north dam being 32 metres high and 432 metres long and the south dam being 29 metres high and 325 metres long.
The reservoir will be 59 km long with an area of 101 km2. The area of flooded land will be 41 km2 at full supply level. The current reservoir for the Churchill Falls Generating Station is 6,527 km2.

The transmission line interconnection between Muskrat and Churchill Falls will be located north of the Churchill River, parallel to the existing right of way.
The Labrador-Island Transmission Link will be constructed from Muskrat Falls to Soldiers Pond. It will be approximately 1,100 km long. The link will be a High Voltage direct current (HVdc) transmission system.
The Labrador-Island Transmission Link will cross the Strait of Belle Isle and have a capacity of 900 megawatts. The sub-sea crossing will be approximately 30 kilometres long.
The Maritime Link will run from Bottom Brook, near Stephenville and connect at a site near Point Aconi, Nova Scotia. The subsea link will be approximately 180 kilometres long and will have a capacity of 500 megawatts.

Estimated capital cost of the project is $6.2 billion.
The Muskrat Falls Generating Facility and Labrador Transmission is estimated to cost $2.9 billion.
The Labrador-Island Link and system upgrades are estimated to cost $2.1 billion and the Maritime Link is estimated to cost $1.2 billion.

The Muskrat Falls development will result in 8,600 person years of direct employment in Newfoundland and Labrador with 5,400 person years of direct employment in Labrador during construction. The addition of indirect and induced employment means a total of 18,400 person years of work in the province, of which 7,500 will occur in Labrador.
There will be peak employment during construction of approximately 2,700 people in 2013.
Canada-wide employment will be 47,800 person years during construction. Direct project employment in this number consists largely of work of a specialty nature, such as steel fabrication, which cannot be completed in Newfoundland and Labrador. However, the greatest part of this number is the induced impact of spending that flows throughout the rest of Canada.
A person year is equivalent to one person working 40 hours per week for 50 weeks.
Muskrat Falls construction site accommodations will be designed for up to 1,000 people and will be removed when construction is complete.

Total income to labour and business for Newfoundland and Labrador will be $1.4 billion or $220 million per year.
Over $210 million in taxes will accrue to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Canada-wide income to labour and business will be $3.5 billion or $540 million per year.
Over $525 million in taxes to the Government of Canada.

Newfoundland and Labrador will have an electricity system that will be greater than 98 per cent carbon free.
The development of Muskrat Falls would avoid approximately 96 million tonnes of emissions by 2065 – a significant number for a small province.