The Carillon Generating Station (in French: centrale de Carillon) is a hydroelectric power station on the Ottawa River near Carillon, Quebec, Canada. Built between 1959 and 1964, it is managed and operated by Hydro-Québec. It is a run-of-river generating station with an installed capacity of 752 megawatts (1,008,000 hp), a head of 17.99 meters (59.0 ft), and a reservoir of 26 square kilometers (10 sq mi). The dam spans the river between Carillon and Pointe-Fortune, Quebec.
Upon completion, the dam raised the water level by over 62 feet (19 m) at Carillon and over 9 feet (2.7 m) at Grenville. This inundated the rapids of Long-Sault, transforming them into calm (deeper) water. The dam also includes a modern lock that facilitates traffic up the Ottawa River, superseding the Carillon Canal.
A power station (also referred to as a generating station, power plant, powerhouse, or generating plant) is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Most power stations contain one or more generators, a rotating machine that converts mechanical power into electrical power. The relative motion between a magnetic field and a conductor creates an electrical current. The energy source harnessed to turn the generator varies widely. Most power stations in the world burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas to generate electricity. Others use nuclear power, but there is an increasing use of cleaner renewable sources such as solar, wind, wave and hydroelectric.
The world's first power station was designed and built by Lord Armstrong at Cragside, England in 1868. Water from one of the lakes was used to power Siemens dynamos. The electricity supplied power to lights, heating, produced hot water, ran an elevator as well as labor-saving devices and farm buildings.