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.
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".
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 Colorado–Big Thompson Project is a federal water diversion project in Colorado designed to collect West Slope mountain water from the headwaters of the Colorado River and divert it to Colorado's Front Range and plains. In Colorado, approximately 80% of the state's precipitation falls on the West Slope, in the Rocky Mountains, while around 80% of the state's growing population lives along the eastern slope, between the cities of Fort Collins and Pueblo.
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, United States. 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.
The Uncompahgre Gorge is a deep mountain canyon formed by the Uncompahgre River and Red Mountain Creek in the Uncompahgre National Forest. It is located just south of Ouray, in Ouray County, Colorado.
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.
Blue Mesa Reservoir is an artificial reservoir located on the upper reaches of the Gunnison River in Gunnison County, Colorado. The largest lake located entirely within the state, Blue Mesa Reservoir was created by the construction of Blue Mesa Dam, a 390 feet (120 m) tall earthen fill dam constructed on the Gunnison by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1966 for the generation of hydroelectric power. Managed as part of the Curecanti National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service, Blue Mesa Reservoir is the largest lake trout and Kokanee salmon fishery in Colorado.
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.
Provo Canyon is located in unincorporated Utah County and Wasatch County, Utah. Provo Canyon runs between Mount Timpanogos on the north and Mount Cascade on the south. The canyon extends from Orem on the west end to Heber City on the east. Provo Canyon is situated to the east of Utah Valley and grants access to the valleys and Uinta Basin regions that lie beyond the Wasatch front.
The Colorado River Storage Project is a United States Bureau of Reclamation project designed to oversee the development of the upper basin of the Colorado River. The project provides hydroelectric power, flood control and water storage for participating states along the upper portion of the Colorado River and its major tributaries.
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.
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 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 Big Creek Hydroelectric Project is an extensive hydroelectric power scheme on the upper San Joaquin River system, in the Sierra Nevada of central California. The project is owned and operated by Southern California Edison (SCE). The use and reuse of the waters of the San Joaquin River, its South Fork, and the namesake of the project, Big Creek – over a vertical drop of 6,200 ft (1,900 m) – have over the years inspired a nickname, "The Hardest Working Water in the World".
Englemann Canyon is a valley along Ruxton Creek, in Manitou Springs, El Paso County, Colorado. It is one of three canyons in Manitou Springs, the others are Ute Pass and Williams Canyon.
The Upper North Fork Feather River Project is a hydroelectric scheme in the Sierra Nevada of California, within Lassen and Plumas Counties. The project consists of three dams, five power plants, and multiple conduits and tunnels in the headwaters of the North Fork Feather River, a major tributary of the Feather—Sacramento River systems. The total installed capacity is 362.3 megawatts (MW), producing an annual average of 1,171.9 gigawatt hours (GWh). The project is also contracted for the delivery of irrigation water between March 31 and October 31 of each year. The project is owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
The Marble Canyon Dam, also known as the Redwall Dam, was a proposed dam on the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The dam was intended to impound a relatively small reservoir in the central portion of Marble Canyon to develop hydroelectric power. Plans centered on two sites between miles 30 and 40 in the canyon. At one point a 38-mile (61 km) tunnel was proposed to a site just outside Grand Canyon National Park to develop the site's full power generation potential, reducing the Colorado River to a trickle through the park.
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.
