The Ouray Hydroelectric Power Plant (formerly known as Ouray Electric Light and Power Company) is a conventional hydroelectric power station located in Ouray, Colorado.
The Ouray Hydroelectric Power Plant (formerly known as Ouray Electric Light and Power Company) is a conventional hydroelectric power station located in Ouray, Colorado.
The Ouray Electric Light and Power Company was incorporated on December 6, 1885. It is one of the 4 oldest operating power plants in the world. [1]
The first electric plant was built at the south end of Oak Street, but the plant was moved and enlarged in 1890 near its present location. Water was used from the Uncompahgre River, when available. A steam engine was used to provide service when the flow was low or freezing conditions occurred. On February 20, 1886, the power company petitioned the Board of Trustees for a 20-year contract to erect poles, wires, and lamps throughout the city. [2]
Water was originally provided from a tunnel driven into Box Canyon with water diverted from Canyon Creek, but the water proved to have too much sand and abrasives in it. In 1901 it was announced that a dam was to be completed the following year on the Ucompahgre river south of Ouray to furnish a more consistent supply for the hydroelectric plant. That dam is still in use today. Water from that dam also supplies water for the Ouray Ice Park, a premier ice climbing venue that extends for 3 miles south of Ouray and attracts thousands of climbers each year. [2]
When the new dam was proposed it was described as follows: "The dam will be from 60 to 90 feet high and in the neighborhood of 300 feet wide. It will cross Bear Creek Valley [Uncompahgre Valley] and blockage of the waters of the stream will be about one mile and a quarter this side of Bear Creek Falls and when completed that back water will form a beautiful mountain lake, clear as crystal, one mile and a half wide by a mile and a quarter in length. [2]
"The fall from the dam is 700 feet... It will be one of the most gigantic undertakings in the story of the San Juan, and every minute detail has been fully considered and there is no doubt about it being carried to a successful issue." [2]
The Western Colorado Power Company (WCPC) was organized on March 12, 1913. By the following year it had consolidated the operations of eight major companies: the Durango Gas and Electric Company, San Juan Water and Power Company, Nunn's Telluride Power Company, the Telluride Electric Light Company, and (in 1914) the Ouray Power and Light Company, Montrose Electric Light and Power Company, Delta Electric Light Company, and Ridgway Electric Company. The new Western Colorado Power Company encompassed thirty predecessor companies, which had an average corporate life of only six years. Networking of the formerly isolated power plants was a daring concept, never before attempted on this scale. It involved construction of transmission lines through the steep mountains and construction of additional power generation sources. One result was a sharp decrease in the costs of electrical service. [3]
Eric R. Jacobson, current owner of the Ouray power plant, provided much of the above information about how the collection came to Fort Lewis College. He has informed the Center of Southwest Studies that he has in his own possession about the same volume of records as is at the Center. Many of his records focus on the Ouray plant. Jacobson notes that Deep Springs College in Bishop, California, has records of L. L. Nunn; Paul Swatek of Chicago is on that College's board of directors and is perhaps the best contact regarding those records. Other records are available at the Olin Library of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. [3]
Eric Jacobson purchased the power plant in April 1992, from the Colorado-Ute Electric Association, a utility that was in bankruptcy and unable to make the needed repairs. He purchased the plant for $10 because he was the only pre-qualified bidder. Jacobson restored the dam, replaced pipe, and modernized the powerhouse. In the spring of 1994, the power plant was able to once again produce electricity. Public Service Company of Colorado contracted to sell the power which is wheeled to Denver to be used in the grid. [3]
Richard Ezra Fowler was the operator of the Ouray Hydro plant and resided there from 1992 until 2008. He was helped by Chris Dobbins who took over plant operations after Mr. Fowler's untimely death. [4]
The hydroelectric plant is owned by Hydrowest, Inc. [5]
As part of the modernization of the Ouray Hydroelectric plant, custom-designed offsite monitoring and alarm systems have been added. [6]
Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains. The first gold mining claim was made in the mountains above Telluride in 1875, and early settlement of what is now Telluride followed. The town was founded in 1878 as "Columbia", but due to confusion with a California town of the same name, was renamed Telluride in 1887 for the gold telluride minerals found in other parts of Colorado. These telluride minerals were never found near Telluride, but the area's mines for some years provided zinc, lead, copper, silver, and other gold ores.
San Miguel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,072. The county seat is Telluride. The county is named for the San Miguel River.
Ouray County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,874. The county seat is Ouray. Because of its rugged mountain topography, Ouray County is also known as the Switzerland of America.
Ouray is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of Ouray County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 898 as of the 2020 census. The Ouray Post Office has the ZIP Code 81427. Located at an elevation of 7,792 feet (2,375 m), Ouray's climate, natural alpine environment, and scenery have earned it the nickname "Switzerland of America".
The Town of Ridgway is the home rule municipality that is the most populous municipality in Ouray County, Colorado, United States. The town is a former railroad stop on the Uncompahgre River in the northern San Juan Mountains. The town population was 1,183 at the 2020 census.
The Uncompahgre River is a tributary of the Gunnison River, approximately 75 mi (121 km) long, in southwestern Colorado in the United States. Lake Como at 12,215 ft (3723m) in northern San Juan County, in the Uncompahgre National Forest in the northwestern San Juan Mountains is the headwaters of the river. It flows northwest past Ouray, Ridgway, Montrose, and Olathe and joins the Gunnison at Confluence Park in Delta.
The San Juan Skyway Scenic and Historic Byway is a 236-mile (380 km) All-American Road, National Forest Scenic Byway, and Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway located in Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, San Juan, and San Miguel counties, Colorado, USA. The byway forms a loop in southwestern Colorado traversing the heart of the San Juan Mountains. The San Juan Skyway reaches its zenith at Red Mountain Pass at elevation 11,018 feet (3,358 m). Mesa Verde National Park was one of the original UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Silverton Historic District and the Telluride Historic District are National Historic Landmarks.
Ridgway Dam is an earthen dam on the Uncompahgre River which impounds Ridgway Reservoir, located about 6 miles (10 km) north of the town of Ridgway in Ouray County, Colorado. The dam is 332 ft (101 m) high and 2,465 ft (751 m) long, with a capacity of 84,410 acre⋅ft (104,120,000 m3) of water.
The York Haven Dam is a low head, run-of-the river, dam and hydroelectric plant that is located on the Susquehanna River in the United States.
The Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant, constructed in 1890 near Ophir, Colorado, was one of the first commercial system to produce and transmit alternating current (AC) electricity for industrial use and one of the first AC hydro-electric plants ever constructed. It became operational in 1891 and was built by Westinghouse Electric around two of their large alternators. One was set up in the valley as a generator and driven by water. It was connected by a 2.6-mile (4.2 km) transmission line to the second alternator used as a motor up at the Gold King Mine to drive the mining operation. The facility has been changed and upgraded over the years but is still in operation. It is now on the List of IEEE Milestones.
Croton Dam is an earth-filled embankment dam and powerplant complex on the Muskegon River in Croton Township, Newaygo County, Michigan. It was built in 1907 under the direction of William D. Fargo by the Grand Rapids - Muskegon Power Company, a predecessor of Consumers Energy. The 40-foot-high (12 m) dam impounds 7.2 billion U.S. gallons (6 billion imp. gal/27 billion L) of water in its 1,209-acre (489 ha) reservoir and is capable of producing 8,850 kilowatts at peak outflow. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Bridal Veil Falls is a 365-foot waterfall at the end of the box canyon overlooking Telluride, Colorado. Hiking and off-road trails pass by the falls and it has a hydroelectric power plant at its top. In winter the frozen shape of the falls forms an imposing challenge to intrepid ice climbers.
The North Fork Kings River is a 40.3-mile (64.9 km) tributary of the Kings River, in the U.S. state of California. The river's main stem is entirely within Fresno County, and its watershed drains about 387 square miles (1,000 km2) of the southern Sierra Nevada mountain range.
Lee Vining Creek is a 16.2-mile-long (26.1 km) stream in Mono County, California, flowing into the endorheic basin of Mono Lake. It is the second largest stream flowing into the lake, after Rush Creek.
The Olmsted Power Station is a historic building located in Orem, Utah, United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The hydropower plant was dedicated on April 12, 1904 and decommissioned on September 21, 2015. The plant will become a museum after a seismic refit of the building.
The Smuggler-Union Hydroelectric Powerplant, also known as the Bridal Veil Powerhouse, is an electric power generation plant and residence located next to Bridal Veil Falls on a 400-foot (120 m) cliff overlooking Telluride, Colorado. The structure is 2+1⁄2 stories on a poured concrete foundation with a wood frame superstructure. It consists of a main power plant building, a 1+1⁄2-story residence and a 1-story cookhouse. The power plant foundation is distinctive, with semicircular windows. A semicircular bay with arched windows projects out on a rock spur.
The Electron Hydroelectric Project, originally known as the Puyallup Project, is a hydroelectric power plant operated by Electron Hydro LLC on the Puyallup River in Pierce County, Washington. It generates 22 megawatts (30,000 hp) of electricity and is operated and maintained by approximately 20 full-time employees.
The Shoshone Generating Station is a hydroelectric power plant on the Colorado River east of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. In addition to its power output, the water rights the plant uses are among the oldest on the Colorado River, and play a major role in the flow of water to the Western Slope of Colorado.
Trout Lake is a lake located in southeast San Miguel County, Colorado, in Uncompahgre National Forest. Trout Lake is a 15-minute drive from Ophir via Colorado State Highway 145 and a 20-minute drive from Telluride.
