The Sidney A. Murray Jr. Hydroelectric Station, also known as Louisiana Hydroelectric (LA Hydro), opened in response to a need for a non-polluting, less-costly power source for Vidalia, Louisiana. A site approximately 40 miles south of the town was selected for the new facility. The 192 MW plant started full-scale operations in 1990. [1] It was designed to rely on the Mississippi River's natural flow and elevation drop at the Old River Control Structure, therefore not needing a large impound dam. It was also built in accordance with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers existing water management objective with minimal impacts on the surrounding environment. The station operates more continuously than most run-of-the-river hydro plants, with a capacity factor of approximately 55% and an estimated availability in excess of 99%.
It is currently under an approved 42-year power purchase contract with Louisiana Power & Light (a subsidiary of Entergy). The city of Vidalia purchases 6% of the power with an option to purchase up to 15% of the generated power. [2]
The LA Hydro is the largest prefabricated power plant in the world. Its main business office is located in Vidalia.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual (Total) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 6,457 | 71,522 | 92,884 | 87,213 | 83,754 | 109,438 | 68,104 | 39,657 | 23,705 | 29,768 | 31,911 | 87,804 | 732,217 |
| 2002 | 53,983 | 91,940 | 85,666 | 121,301 | 113,767 | 131,574 | 62,225 | 30,562 | 25,454 | 57,238 | 56,689 | 61,042 | 891,441 |
| 2003 | 85,561 | 53,798 | 105,141 | 94,863 | 87,494 | 114,354 | 85,262 | 61,652 | 47,256 | 38,006 | 40,124 | 78,480 | 891,991 |
| 2004 | 92,220 | 94,375 | 99,273 | 94,331 | 113,292 | 113,628 | 112,516 | 57,498 | 56,934 | 58,324 | 91,162 | 115,272 | 1,098,825 |
| 2005 | 116,188 | 116,099 | 112,518 | 116,346 | 89,726 | 67,544 | 52,622 | 23,857 | 33,729 | 27,106 | 22,833 | 32,380 | 810,948 |
| 2006 | 53,694 | 82,036 | 78,947 | 81,966 | 100,980 | 51,132 | 32,364 | 18,861 | 19,442 | 44,886 | 74,940 | 73,967 | 713,215 |
| 2007 | 101,849 | 76,961 | 100,008 | 104,998 | 117,993 | 80,771 | 54,119 | 36,131 | 44,120 | 25,555 | 32,278 | 51,859 | 826,642 |
| 2008 | 75,212 | 75,215 | 104,356 | 125,592 | 133,269 | 124,981 | 129,568 | 91,534 | 52,559 | 60,314 | 35,693 | 56,080 | 1,064,373 |
| 2009 | 100,881 | 87,382 | 106,346 | 125,916 | 130,160 | 130,985 | 98,002 | 84,715 | 58,477 | 90,194 | 110,183 | 113,110 | 1,236,351 |
| 2010 | 104,529 | 116,029 | 116,627 | 114,519 | 101,152 | 114,540 | 117,190 | 110,134 | 65,993 | 57,695 | 29,781 | 60,605 | 1,108,794 |
| 2011 | 51,480 | 48,280 | 98,542 | 111,061 | 111,456 | 120,207 | 123,856 | 98,595 | 65,485 | 45,553 | 54,361 | 115,143 | 1,044,019 |
| 2012 | 122,126 | 109,555 | 111,029 | 91,417 | 87,332 | 34,197 | 19,763 | 13,582 | 16,364 | 19,223 | 21,099 | 34,257 | 679,944 |
| 2013 | 86,731 | 103,346 | 106,707 | 98,491 | 126,938 | 126,869 | 124,777 | 89,360 | 38,779 | 33,812 | 37,846 | 70,905 | 1,044,561 |
| 2014 | 107,404 | 78,986 | 105,238 | 110,430 | 133,519 | 117,015 | 111,917 | 62,724 | 63,811 | 71,926 | 56,458 | 70,610 | 1,090,038 |
| 2015 | 83,588 | 56,940 | 87,059 | 93,291 | 88,088 | 102,770 | 117,447 | 109,422 | 56,778 | 42,435 | 45,032 | 116,186 | 999,036 |
| 2016 | 83,588 | 56,940 | 87,059 | 93,291 | 88,088 | 102,770 | 117,447 | 109,422 | 56,778 | 42,435 | 45,032 | 116,186 | 1,103,023 |
| 2017 | 82,060 | 73,591 | 92,574 | 90,135 | 96,974 | 93,739 | 77,171 | 62,907 | 57,419 | 51,445 | 58,936 | 69,287 | 906,238 |
| 2018 | 106,969 | 106,002 | 107,731 | 113,692 | 127,348 | 116,000 | 98,915 | 85,769 | 73,340 | 72,402 | 84,490 | 87,197 | 1,179,855 |
| 2019 | 126,820 | 205,704 | 77,917 | 149,457 | 174,085 | 105,562 | 168,640 | 75,632 | 80,203 | 75,346 | 69,641 | 56,659 | 1,365,666 |
| 2020 | 61,819 | 130,122 | 120,233 | 146,931 | 160,377 | 72,017 | 99,974 | 78,521 | 102,937 | 100,633 | 62,234 | 67,945 | 1,203,743 |
| 2021 | 104,466 | 55,061 | 92,752 | 84,112 | 177,991 | 132,866 | 131,022 | 87,628 | 59,874 | 64,813 | 56,626 | 61,967 | 1,109,178 |
| 2022 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Vidalia is the largest city and the parish seat of Concordia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,299 as of the 2010 census.
Small hydro is the development of hydroelectric power on a scale suitable for local community and industry, or to contribute to distributed generation in a regional electricity grid. Exact definitions vary, but a "small hydro" project is less than 50 megawatts (MW), and can be further subdivide by scale into "mini" (<1MW), "micro" (<100 kW), "pico" (<10 kW). In contrast many hydroelectric projects are of enormous size, such as the generating plant at the Three Gorges Dam at 22,500 megawatts or the vast multiple projects of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
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Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station is a former nuclear power station located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in Bécancour, Quebec, 100 km north east of Montreal. The site contained two nuclear reactors; Gentilly-1, a 250 MW CANDU-BWR prototype, was marred by technical problems and shut down in 1977, and Gentilly-2, a 675-MW CANDU-6 reactor operated commercially by the government-owned public utility Hydro-Québec between 1983 and 2012. These were the only power generating nuclear reactors in Quebec.
The Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board, operating as Manitoba Hydro, is the electric power and natural gas utility in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1961, it is a provincial Crown Corporation, governed by the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board and the Manitoba Hydro Act. Today the company operates 16 interconnected generating stations. It has more than 527,000 electric power customers and more than 263,000 natural gas customers. Since most of the electrical energy is provided by hydroelectric power, the utility has low electricity rates. Stations in Northern Manitoba are connected by a HVDC system, the Nelson River Bipole, to customers in the south. The internal staff are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 998 while the outside workers are members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2034.
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The Murray Region Hydroelectric Power Stations refers to two of the original seven hydroelectric power stations, both located near the town of Khancoban in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The two power stations are part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a vast hydroelectricity and irrigation complex constructed in south-east Australia between 1949 and 1974 and now run by Snowy Hydro. Although both power stations are physically located in New South Wales, since 1 July 2008 all power generated has been allocated to the Victorian region of the National Electricity Market. The stations are not located on the Murray River.
The Nelson River Hydroelectric Project refers to the construction of a series of dams and hydroelectric power plants on the Nelson River in Northern Manitoba, Canada. The project began to take shape in the late 1950s, with the planning and construction of the Kelsey dam and hydroelectric power station, and later was expanded to include the diversion of the upper Churchill River into the Nelson River and the transformation of Lake Winnipeg, the world's 11th largest freshwater lake, into a hydroelectric reservoir. The project is owned and operated by Manitoba Hydro, the electrical utility in the province.
The Hàm Thuận – Đa Mi Hydroelectric Power Complex is a cascade of two hydroelectric power stations in Hàm Thuận Bắc District of the central region of Vietnam. It is operated by Da Nhim – Ham Thuan – Da Mi Hydropower Joint Stock Co., a subsidiary of Vietnam Electricity. The same company also operates the older Đa Nhim Hydroelectric Power Station.
According to the International Hydropower Association, Canada is the fourth largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world in 2021 after the United States, Brazil, and China. In 2019, Canada produced 632.2 TWh of electricity with 60% of energy coming from Hydroelectric and Tidal Energy Sources).
The Meghri hydroelectric project is a hydroelectric project planned on the Aras River near Armenia's southern town of Meghri on the Armenia–Iran border.
Mpanga Power Station is an 18 megawatts (24,000 hp) mini hydroelectric power project located across River Mpanga, in Kitagwenda County, Kitagwenda District in Western Uganda.
The Marseilles Hydro Plant, also known as the Marseilles Hydro Development or the Marseilles Hydro Power Station, is a historic hydroelectric power station along the Illinois River in Marseilles, Illinois, USA.
The Bersimis-1 generating station is a dam and a hydroelectric power station built by Hydro-Québec in conjunction with Perini, Atlas and Cartier construction companies on the Betsiamites River, in Lac-au-Brochet, 85 km (53 mi) north of the town of Forestville, Quebec. Construction started in 1953 and the power station was commissioned in 1956 with an initial nameplate capacity of 912 megawatts.
Ohio Falls Station is a hydroelectric power station owned by Louisville Gas & Electric (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities (KU) which is located three miles west of Downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The generating station is located on Shippingport Island at the site of the McAlpine Dam and locks along the Ohio River in Kentucky. The plant was built in 1923 by Byllesby Engineering and Management Corporation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The plant featured eight 10.4 MW units operating at roughly 13,500 hp per unit. Each unit was composed of Allis-Chalmers turbines and General Electric generators. The plant is located inside the Ohio Natural Wildlife Conservation Area and is considered a large impoundment hydro power plant. The station was built after a canal and dam within the Ohio river in an attempt to allow boats to navigate the 8 ft vertical drop among the falls that spanned 2 miles wide. Production of the canal and dam began in 1825. It was not until a repair on the dam was needed that Louisville engineers had the idea of building a hydroelectric station to harvest the power of the falls.
Khancoban Dam is a major ungated earthfill embankment dam with a controlled spillway across the Swampy Plain River in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is for the generation of hydro-power and is one of the sixteen major dams that comprise the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a vast hydroelectricity and irrigation complex constructed in south-east Australia between 1949 and 1974 and now run by Snowy Hydro.
Murray Two Dam or Murray 2 Dam is a major ungated concrete arch dam with a controlled spillway across Khancoban Bank, a diverted flow of the Snowy and Geehi rivers in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The impounded reservoir is called the Murray Two Pondage or Murray 2 Pondage.
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.
