Coleman Falls Dam

Last updated
Coleman Falls Dam
USA Virginia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Coleman Falls Dam in Virginia
Location Bedford County, Virginia / Amherst County, Virginia, U.S.
Coordinates 37°30′8.55″N79°17′59.90″W / 37.5023750°N 79.2999722°W / 37.5023750; -79.2999722 Coordinates: 37°30′8.55″N79°17′59.90″W / 37.5023750°N 79.2999722°W / 37.5023750; -79.2999722
PurposeHydroelectric, Recreation, Fish and Wildlife Pond
StatusIn use
Opening date1851
Owner(s)Georgia Pacific Corporation
Operator(s)Georgia Pacific Corporation
Dam and spillways
Type of dam Gravity
Impounds James River
Height20 ft (6.1 m)
Length562 ft (171 m)
Power Station
Operator(s)Georgia Pacific Corporation
Hydraulic head 18 ft (5.5 m)

The Coleman Falls Dam is a hydroelectric generation facility on the James River near the community of Coleman Falls, Virginia. The project includes a gravity dam spanning the left side of river and a power house on the right bank which contain hydroelectric generation equipment. [1] [2]

The dam is located upstream of the smaller Holcomb Rock Dam.

Related Research Articles

Priest Rapids Dam Dam in Grant / Yakima counties, Washington

Priest Rapids Dam is a hydroelectric, concrete gravity dam; located on the Columbia River, between the Yakima Firing Range and the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, and bridges Yakima County and Grant County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The dam is 24 miles south of the town of Vantage, and 47 miles northwest of the city of Richland. It is located at mile marker 397.1 from the mouth of the Columbia. It is owned by the Grant County Public Utility District (PUD). Priest Rapids, for which the dam was named, are now submerged beneath the dam's reservoir.

Taum Sauk Hydroelectric Power Station Dam in St. Francois Mountains, Missouri

The Taum Sauk pumped storage plant is a power station in the St. Francois mountain region of Missouri, United States about 90 miles (140 km) south of St. Louis near Lesterville, Missouri, in Reynolds County. It is operated by Ameren Missouri.

Jennings Randolph Lake reservoir spanning the border between Maryland and West Virginia, United States

Jennings Randolph Lake is a reservoir of 952 acres (3.85 km2) located on the North Branch Potomac River in Garrett County, Maryland and Mineral County, West Virginia. It is approximately eight miles upstream of Bloomington, Maryland, and approximately five miles north of Elk Garden, West Virginia.

Bull Run Hydroelectric Project Dam in Oregon

The Bull Run Hydroelectric Project was a Portland General Electric (PGE) development in the Sandy River basin in the U.S. state of Oregon. Originally built between 1908 and 1912 near the town of Bull Run, it supplied hydroelectric power for the Portland area for nearly a century, until it was removed in 2007 and 2008. The project used a system of canals, tunnels, wood box flumes and diversion dams to feed a remote storage reservoir and powerhouse. The entire project was removed because of rising environmental costs. Marmot Dam on the Sandy River was demolished in 2007, and the Little Sandy Dam on the Little Sandy River was taken down in 2008.

Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant Dam in Lewiston, New York

The Robert Moses Niagara Hydroelectric Power Station is a hydroelectric power station in Lewiston, New York, near Niagara Falls. Owned and operated by the New York Power Authority (NYPA), the plant diverts water from the Niagara River above Niagara Falls and returns the water into the lower portion of the river near Lake Ontario. It uses 13 generators at an installed capacity of 2,675 MW (3,587,000 hp).

Condit Hydroelectric Project Former dam in Washington, United States

Condit Hydroelectric Project was a development on the White Salmon River in the U.S. state of Washington. It was completed in 1913 to provide electrical power for local industry and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as an engineering and architecture landmark.

Hydroelectric power in the United States

Hydroelectric power in the United States is, as of 2019, the second-largest renewable source of energy in both generation and nominal capacity. In 2015, hydroelectric power produced 35% of the total renewable electricity, and 6.1% of the total U.S. electricity.

Upper Baker Dam is a dam spanning the Baker River in northern Washington in the United States of America. It is one of two dams on the river, the other one being the Lower Baker Dam a few miles downstream. The dam is used to generate hydroelectricity and provide flood control.

Pensacola Dam Dam in Mayes County, near Disney and Langley, Oklahoma

The Pensacola Dam, also known as the Grand River Dam, is a multiple-arch buttress dam on the Grand River in-between Disney and Langley in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The dam is operated by the Grand River Dam Authority and creates Grand Lake o' the Cherokees. After decades of vision and planning, it was constructed between 1938 and 1940 for the purposes of hydroelectric power generation, flood control and recreation. It is Oklahoma's first hydroelectric power plant and is referred to as the longest multiple-arch dam in the world.

Stave Falls Dam and Powerhouse Dam in Stave Falls

Stave Falls Dam is a dual-dam power complex on the Stave River in Stave Falls, British Columbia, Canada. The dam was completed in 1912 for the primary purpose of hydroelectric power production. To increase the capacity of Stave Lake, the dam was raised in 1925 and the Blind Slough Dam constructed in an adjacent watercourse 500 m (1,600 ft) to the north, which was the site of the eponymous Stave Falls. In 2000, the dam's powerhouse was replaced after a four-year upgrade. The powerhouse was once British Columbia's largest hydroelectric power source and is a National Historic Site of Canada.

Yuba–Bear Hydroelectric Project

The Yuba–Bear Hydroelectric Project is a complex hydroelectric scheme in the northern Sierra Nevada in California, tapping the upper Yuba River and Bear River drainage basins. The project area encompasses approximately 400 square miles (1,000 km2) in Nevada, Placer, and Sierra Counties. Owned by the Nevada Irrigation District, it consists of 16 storage dams plus numerous diversion and regulating dams, and four generating stations producing 425 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year. The Yuba–Bear Hydroelectric Project consists of the Bowman development, Dutch Flat No. 2 development, Chicago Park development, and Rollins development.

Koma Kulshan Project Dam in Mount Baker National Forest in Whatcom County, Washington

The Koma Kulshan Project is a 13.3 MW run-of-the-river hydroelectric generation facility on the slopes of Mount Baker, a stratovolcano in Washington state's North Cascades. The project commenced commercial operation in October 1990, and is owned by a Covanta Energy–Atlantic Power joint venture. It supplies Puget Sound Energy via a Power Supply Agreement (PSA) contract. Its single turbine is a Pelton wheel supplied by Sulzer Escher Wyss.

Bedford Hydropower Project Dam in Bedford County, Virginia / Amherst County, Virginia, U.S.

The Bedford Hydropower Project is a hydroelectric generation facility on the James River near the community of Big Island, Virginia. The project includes a low head structure completely spanning the river; river flow is split into a concrete canal leading to the hydroelectric generation facility and the natural river course.

Holcomb Rock Dam Dam in Bedford County, Virginia / Amherst County, Virginia, U.S.

The Holcomb Rock Dam is a concrete dam across the James River near Lynchburg, Virginia. The project consists of a concrete dam across the river, an earthen embankment canal on the right bank, and a power house where water is discharged to generate electricity. Per the 2008 annual generation report, the project generated 6,089,209 KW-hours.

Reusens Dam Dam in Amherst County, Virginia, U.S.

The Reusens Dam is a 12.5 MW hydroelectric generation facility on the James River near the city of Lynchburg, Virginia. The project includes a concrete gravity dam spanning the left side of river which incorporates eight 16 3/4-foot-high flood gates, a 125 feet long by 25 feet tall concrete arch dam segment with 7 1/4-foot-high flashboards, and two separate power houses towards the right bank which contain hydroelectric generation equipment. The A and B power houses have installed capacities of 7.5 MW with three turbines and 5.0 MW with two turbines, respectively. The plant is used in a peaking capacity. The dam is located downstream of the smaller Holcomb Rock Dam and upstream of the Scotts Mill Dam. The typically submerged Bosher Dam near Richmond lies further downstream.

Big Island Dam Dam in Bedford County, Virginia / Amherst County, Virginia, U.S.

The Big Island Dam is a hydroelectric generation facility on the James River near the community of Big Island, Virginia. The project includes a gravity dam spanning the left side of river and a power house on the right bank which contain hydroelectric generation equipment. The dam is located adjacent to and integrated with the large Georgia Pacific paper mill at this location.

The Klamath River Hydroelectric Project is a series of hydroelectric dams and other facilities on the mainstem of the Klamath River, in a watershed on both sides of the California/Oregon border.

Klamath River (Hydroelectric Project)

The Klamath river begins below Upper Klamath Lake in Southern Oregon and flows about 300 miles through Northern California until draining into the Pacific ocean. Upper Klamath Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Oregon and was established by the late Pliocene period. The lake fills a graben that is thousands of meters deep. The Klamath Basin lies on the edge of the Basin and Range province and is adjacent to the High Cascades of Southern Oregon.

St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the only natural falls on the Mississippi River. Since almost the beginning of settlement in the area by European descendants, the St. Anthony Falls have been used for waterpower. The first allowed settlers were at Ft. Snelling, where construction began in 1820. A sawmill was operating 1821 and a flour mill in 1823. As soon as the land at the sides of the falls became available it was purchased with the intent of using the waterpower of the falls. First lumber mills covered the falls, cutting lumber floated down the Mississippi. After 1870 flour mills started to dominate the area. From 1880 to 1930 the area was the number one flour producer in the US. In later years, some of the power came from steam, but in 1923 half of the waterpower used was for flour milling. Other industries have also used the waterpower.

References

  1. US Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams, NIDID VA00903
  2. Dam Safety Inspection Report for Coleman Falls Company, LLC' s Coleman Falls Project-5456 for the period 7/31/08-12/20/10. FERC Ascension Number 20110214-5028. FERC Project Number P-5456. February 14, 2011.