Built between 1917 and 1922, the Queenston-Chippawa Hydro-Electric Development was considered the world's first true hydroelectric megaproject. Its massive scale required construction equipment, power conversion units, and a power canal of unprecedented magnitude. The Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario carried out this engineering feat, and under the chairmanship of Sir Adam Beck it expanded the plant's capacity to provide inexpensive power to towns and cities, fuel industrial growth, and support rural electrification. In 1950, the Queenston-Chippawa Development was renamed the Sir Adam Beck Generating Station.