The
James Bay Project (in French,
projet de la Baie-James) refers to the construction by
state-owned utility Hydro-Québec of a series of
hydroelectric power stations on the
La Grande River in northwestern
Quebec,
Canada, and the diversion of neighbouring rivers into the La Grande
watershed. It is located between
James Bay to the west and
Labrador to the east and its waters flow from the
Laurentian Plateau of the
Canadian Shield. The project covers an area of the size of the
State of New York and is one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the world. It has cost upwards of US$20 billion to build and has an installed generating capacity of 16,527 megawatts. If fully expanded to include all of the original planned dams, as well as the additional "James Bay II" projects, the system would generate a total of 27,000 MW, making it the largest hydroelectric system in the world.