Role of the Selkirk Generating Station

On average, Manitoba Hydro generates approximately 95 per cent of its electricity from hydraulic resources. The remaining 5 per cent is provided by a combination of thermal resources and electricity imports. The Selkirk plant contributes to Manitoba Hydro's thermal resources.

Selkirk GS is a valuable asset to Manitoba Hydro. The station is a clean, low-impact thermal station that can be relied upon to produce energy in times of constrained supplies from primary generation sources. Since converting from coal-fired operation to natural gas-fired operation, Selkirk is considered among the lowest emitting thermal power plants in Canada. The station's operations produce virtually no emissions of mercury, metals, or sulphur dioxide. Emissions of other combustion by-products are insignificant. Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHG), produced while firing natural gas, are fewer than produced by other fossil fuels which reduces the GHG inventory that Manitoba Hydro manages under the Corporation's long-term GHG management strategy.

The station employs two independent generating units to produce electricity. Each unit consists of a steam generator, a steam turbine-generator, and auxiliary systems. The steam generator combusts the feedstock fuel and heats water to produce steam; the steam turbine converts steam into rotational energy which is coupled to an electrical generator to produce electrical energy. The electrical energy enters Manitoba Hydro's grid through a transmission substation used for regulating voltages.