hydroelectric power plant tour

Powering the 21st Century

A Smithsonian magazine special report

Where to Take a Tour of the World’s Power Plants

From Nevada’s Hoover Dam to a geothermal plant next to an Icelandic volcano, these six power stations open their doors to visitors

Marina Koren

In nations around the world, concerns have been growing about the greenhouse gas emissions that come from burning coal or natural gas for power. And after the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, some countries worried about the safety of their nuclear plants have gone so far as to shut theirs down. Clean, safer renewable resources—such as hydropower, tidal, biofuel, solar and wind—are being used in ever greater amounts to help the world meet its energy needs. In Mexico, for example, the country’s energy policy calls for increasing total carbon dioxide-free power generation by 8 percent by 2024. And this March, solar power accounted for 100 percent of new energy produced on the American grid.

But the newest and most innovative power plants under construction today stand in the shadow of predecessors that have been churning away, sometimes for decades. Here are some of the world’s most impressive renewable energy plants worth touring.

Hoover Dam, United States

When Congress authorized the construction of a massive dam on the Colorado River in 1928, America had never before seen such a massive undertaking of resources and labor. The Nevada town of Boulder City was developed for the sole purpose of housing the thousands of workers who were to build what would become the Hoover Dam . When complete, the nearly 730-foot-tall structure had used 5.9 million barrels of cement over the 27 years of construction.

The dam was built to divert the Colorado and control flooding by burrowing four massive, 30-foot-diameter tunnels into the walls of Black Canyon, two in Nevada and two in Arizona. Today, nearly 80 years after it began operating, the dam generates about 4 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power each year, enough to power the lives of 1.3 million people.

This National Historic Landmark has offered guided tours since 1937, drawing one million visitors each year . For $30, individuals can take an elevator 530 feet down through the rock wall of the Black Canyon for a tour through one of the dam’s four tunnels. The metal behemoths are capable of moving 90,000 gallons of water each second from Lake Mead to the dam’s hydroelectric generators.

Back above ground, the power plant balcony offers a panoramic view of the 650-foot-long Nevada wing of the plant, as well as eight of the dam’s 17 generators. An exhibit gallery houses memorabilia from the dam’s 82-year history along with a walk-through model of a generator and a detailed diorama of the entire dam.

Manapouri Power Station, New Zealand

Hellisheidi Power Station, Iceland

Annapolis Tidal Station, Canada

Cruachan Power Station, Scotland

Alholmens Kraft Power Station, Finland

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Marina Koren | | READ MORE

Marina Koren is a staff writer at The Atlantic . Previously, she was a digital intern for Smithsonian.com.

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• Tours And Recreation

Visit Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Museum and Park

Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Museum is open to the public Memorial Day through Labor Day, Wednesday – Sunday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

PSE’s historic Carpenter Shop and Train Depot, which chronicle Charles H. Baker’s 1898-1899 development of the world’s first underground power station, house the hydroelectric museum’s exhibits.

The 12-acre Snoqualmie Falls Park contains picnic areas, restrooms, education kiosks and signs, and cliffside observation areas for viewing Snoqualmie Falls.

The lower park area offers a trail through forested wildlife habitat, a kayak and canoe launching area, historic interpretive displays and a riverside boardwalk and observation platform for viewing Snoqualmie Falls. Parking in the main park area accommodates tour buses and approximately 450 cars. The parking lot in the lower park has three bus stalls and space for 41 cars.

Please be advised that the Snoqualmie Falls Park gift shop parking area, between the main and lower parking areas is now “pay to park.” View  this map for more information. Also, there is an Overflow Lot off of Snoqualmie Parkway at Railroad Avenue, which can accommodate an estimated 150 vehicles.

The energy project's Snoqualmie Falls Park and its trails are open for day use year-round. The park is one of the region's most-visited tourist destinations. Map It

Puget Sound Energy's Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Project, built in the late 1890s about 30 miles east of Seattle, is one of the Pacific Northwest's oldest hydropower facilities and home to the world's first hydroelectric plant built completely underground.

Visitor Information for Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Museum

Days and Hours: Wed - Sun 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Memorial Day through Labor Day

Address: SE 69th Place, Snoqualmie, Wash 98065 Map It

Parking: Parking for the museum is limited. Park in the museum parking lot and follow the striped pedestrian path to the museum. ADA parking is available next to the museum.

For more information: 425-831-4445

Watch the video below for a virtual tour of the historic Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Project.

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• https://www.niagaraparks.com/visit/attractions/niagara-parks-power-station/the-tunnel-niagara-falls

The Tunnel at the Niagara Parks Power Station

Uncover a new underground experience from 180 feet beneath the halls of the Niagara Parks Power Station with the all-new tunnel experience, included with regular admission. Find out how this remarkable 2,200-foot-long tunnel was excavated with only lanterns, rudimentary dynamite, pickaxes and shovels. Then, step out onto a new observation deck at the river's edge.

Discover a new underground perspective

Dig deep into the rich history of the century-old power station as you explore this engineering feat from an incredible new perspective, 180 feet beneath the main generating floor.

Get views of the power station’s hidden decks as you descend into the tunnel in a glass-paneled elevator. Then, explore fascinating exhibits to find out how it was remarkably excavated in 1901 with only lanterns, rudimentary dynamite, pickaxes and shovels. Learn how it expelled the power station’s spent waters back into the Niagara River, at the base of the falls.

Viewing platform

The tunnel served as an exit point for the water used in generating hydropower for over a century. Your journey in the tunnel will take you along the same path travelled by water and lead you to a viewing platform where the tunnel emptied into the Niagara River.

For the first time ever, the newly constructed viewing platform offers unprecedented access to a new perspective of the lower Niagara River with unparalleled views of both the Horseshoe and American Falls.

There's more to Niagara's power story

The all-new tunnel experience at the Niagara Parks Power Station is included with regular admission to the station. Explore this restored hydroelectric power station, first constructed over a century ago. Discover interactive exhibits, fascinating models and more. Hungry for more? Scan story markers throughout the station with your mobile device and dig deeper with exclusive content, including our audio guide! Fully guided generator hall tours with our expert interpreters are also available.

Know Before You Go

You’re about to embark on an incredible journey through a 115+ year-old tunnel, deep underground. Here are some tips to help you prepare for the experience.

2,200 feet!

The glass-walled elevator takes you deep underground, where you'll travel 2,200 feet through the tunnel. The pathway is even and smooth, but be sure to wear comfortable footwear. Look for benches along the way if you need to stop and take a break.

60° F (15 ° C)

You're 180 feet underground. Despite the weather on the surface, it can get chilly down there! Consider dressing for the weather and bringing a light jacket. Once you reach the observation deck at the river's edge, expect to get wet! Recyclable rain ponchos are available upon request.

If you have to go, now's the time! There are ample fully accessible washrooms available on the generator floor of the power station. We recommend making a quick pit stop before descending down the elevator.

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The Tunnel is included with the regular admission to the Power Station

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7005, Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6T2

We’re here to help

The Niagara Parks Power Station is located at 7005 Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls, Ontario, between Table Rock Welcome Centre and the Floral Showhouse. Please note that when using GPS devices, searching by exact address may lead to inconsistent results on some devices. [Get Directions]

That Niagara Parks Power Station is open daily for general admission and guided tours. The power station reopens nightly for the Currents: Niagara's Power Transformed show. Please see hours of operation for more details.

Parking is available right next to the Niagara Parks Power Station, at the Falls Parking Lot. A Falls Parking Event Pass, valid from 6:00 p.m., is available to visitors attending Currents . Daily parking passes are also available for purchase that include unlimited parking at a number of Niagara Parks parking lots. Learn More .

Yes, all tickets and packages for the Niagara Parks Power Station can be purchased in-person at the power station. However, visitors are reminded that purchasing tickets in-person is subject to availability.

Yes, the Niagara Parks Power Station is fully accessible. There are benches located throughout the power station, as well as a wheelchair available for use inside on a first-come, first-serve basis.

A Niagara Parks attraction ticket provides a one-time entry into the attraction. If you would like to leave and come back, either later that day or another day, Niagara Parks does offer Annual Attraction Passes that provide unlimited admission to participating Niagara Parks attractions. More information can be found here or by inquiring at the attraction.

Admission to the Tunnel is included with general admission to the Niagara Parks Power Station. Admission tickets can be purchased online or in person at the power station.

No, you do not need to book a time to visit the Tunnel at the Niagara Parks Power Station. Accessed by elevator inside the station, admission is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Yes, the Tunnel and viewing platform are fully accessible. The tunnel surface is a smooth, flat walkway with benches at intervals throughout.

No, admission tickets are valid for one entry only. We recommend planning for a two-hour experience if you wish to explore the Tunnel during your visit to the power station.

Yes, the Niagara Parks Power Station is open year-round. Please note, due to safety reasons, access to the viewing platform and/or tunnel experience at the station may be limited during inclement weather.

Still have questions about planning your trip to Niagara Parks?

AWAY YOU GO!

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Exploring Hydropower on the Ohio River – Tour Opportunities at Clean Currents 2023

August 14, 2023

Jeremy Chase-Israel, Content Development Specialist, NHA

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NHA thanks our sponsors:

The National Hydropower Association’s upcoming Clean Currents industry-wide event offers a unique and valuable learning experience for anyone working in waterpower. With a focus on engaging the industry through participation, one of the highlights of Clean Currents are the on-site tours of hydroelectric facilities in the area.

For 2023’s Clean Currents, which takes place in Cincinnati, Ohio, from October 10 – 13, the owners of three unique hydroelectric projects are hosting on-site tours. If you are interested in exploring building new hydro at existing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ dams and/or are a history buff and love exploring the ingenuity of hydropower, these tours are for you!

Each tour has limited participation, and spots fill fast, so Clean Currents’ eligible attendees are encouraged to sign-up now.

The available tours are as follows:

• Meldahl Hydroelectric Plant, Tuesday morning, October 10
• Markland Locks and Dams, Tuesday afternoon, October 10
• Americana Tour at Hamilton Hydro, Friday morning October 13

The on-site tours offer attendees unprecedented access to waterpower facilities responsible for providing renewable energy to communities across the Midwest. These in-the-field tours are a great opportunity to learn from hydropower asset owners whose facilities are critical to helping achieve the United States’ net-zero goals. Tickets for one or more of the tours can be purchased while registering for Clean Currents .

MELDAHL HYDROELECTRIC PLANT

Hosted by the City of Hamilton, Ohio, and American Municipal Power, the tour of the Meldahl Hydroelectric Plant takes place on Tuesday, October 10. Running from 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST, attendees will have the chance to experience the 105 MW run-of-the-river plant up close.

Named after Captain Anthony Meldahl, a renowned Ohio River riverboat captain in the 1800’s, the Meldahl Hydroelectric Plant is located in Foster, Kentucky, an hour southeast of Cincinnati, at a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ lock and dam. The facility, which reached full commercial operation in 2016, is the largest hydroelectric power plant on the Ohio River and has an annual output of 523.2 million kilowatt-hours, with the highest annual output occurring in 2021 with 639.4 million kilowatt-hours generated.

The tour features a look at the powerhouse, which sports a crane spanning 190 feet that can pick up 175 tons – the equivalent of a Boeing 747 jet. Additionally, the powerhouse is designed to be overtopped during flood events by as much as 25 feet of water.

MARKLAND LOCKS AND DAM

Hosted by Duke Energy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the tour of Markland Locks and Dam and the Markland Hydroelectric Facility takes place on Tuesday, October 10. Running from 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST, attendees will travel by bus to the site, which is located on the Ohio River, only an hour from downtown Cincinnati.

The 1,395-foot concrete dam bridge and locks span the Ohio River and connect Gallatin County, Kentucky, and Switzerland County, Indiana. The locks were completed in 1959 and the dam was completed in 1964.

Markland Locks and Dam has an installed capacity of 81 Mva, and when visitors tour the facility, they can access an observation platform, complete with incredible views of the Ohio River.

AMERICANA TOUR AT HAMILTON HYDRO

Hosted by the City of Hamilton, Ohio, the “Americana Tour” at Hamilton Hydro takes place on Friday, October 13. Running from 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM, participants will be able to experience the current and historical importance of hydropower to the City of Hamilton.

Attendees will be split into four groups in order to experience four “stations” covering a wide range of topics, such as:

• The story of Hamilton Hydraulic’s canal, constructed in the 1840’s
• The Henry Ford connection, covering the famed entrepreneur’s fascination with hydroelectric power and relationship to Hamilton’s hydropower history
• Native settlements and history, exploring archaeological digs and early cultures
• Current hydroelectric operations, which gives attendees a detailed look inside the Hamilton Hydroelectric Plant – a 2-MW facility located on the Ohio River

After the tour concludes, attendees will be served light refreshments and will be able to network, ask questions to subject matter experts, and, potentially, view artifacts from Hamilton’s past.

HOW TO SIGN UP

Interested attendees can sign-up for the on-site tours when registering for Clean Currents .

If you have any questions, please reach out to Francesca Blanco Hadjimichael, CMP, NHA’s Director of Meetings and Events, at [email protected] .

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Walk Through a Hydroelectric Project

Click here for a graphic showing steps for generating hydropower.

Introduction

HYDROPOWER  is a clean, low cost and renewable energy source that takes an unpredictable resource — rainfall and snowpack — and turn it into a reliable source of electricity. Hydroelectric projects can support recreation, irrigation, flood control, transportation and habitat needs.

1. The Penstock

WATER FROM A  river or reservoir flows into the powerhouse. Commonly a penstock, a large pipe that can be above or below ground, is used to direct the water flow.

2. Turbine Blades

TURBINE BLADES  are pushed by flowing water from the penstock, causing them to rotate.

THE SHAPE AND ANGLE  of the turbine blades transfers the energy of falling water to rotate the shaft.

3. Turbine Shaft

THE SHAFT  connects the turbine to the generator, turning at the same speed as the turbine.

4. Generator (Rotor)

INSIDE THE GENERATOR  the spinning shaft turns magnets inside a stationary ring of copper, moving electrons to produce electricity.

5. Step Up Transformer

STEP UP TRANSFORMERS  increase the voltage of electricity produced by the generator.

6. Transmission Lines

TRANSMISSON LINES carry high voltage electricity to substations in our communities.

7. Substations

A T SUBSTATIONS the voltage is decreased and the power is distributed to homes and businesses.

8. Homes & Businesses

SUBSTATIONS Before reaching our home or business from substations, voltage is again decreased at transformers. As shown in the picture, transformers are often seen at the top of power poles.

9. Water Flow

WATER FLOW is used to turn turbines returns to the river.

10. Spillway

SPILLWAYS release water downstream that is not directed to the powerhouse to generate electricity.

General Ticket for Hydroelectric Power Plant Tour

Garrison Dam Power Plant Tours

Hydroelectric Power Plant Tours are intended for Family Groups or Individuals. 

On this tour you will enjoy a general program in our loby where you will observe displays explaining the purpose of our dam. You will then be escorted around the Garrison Power Plant in order to observe the generator floor. Along the tour you will be able to observe other details of the energy making process of transforming water into electrical energy that travels to multiple states for use. 

Reservations are available 90 days prior to date of the tour. Tours begin at 2:00 pm C.S.T., Thursday, Fridays, and Saturdays. Please arrive on the date of your reserved tour at least 10 min early to allow for a timely tour for all individuals in the tour. Once the gate is secured no entry will be given to late individuals. State Issued or Federal Issued ID is required to be presented prior to entry for all individuals 18 and over.

Select a date to see a list of times

Need to Know

You are entering a secure facility on this tour. State Issued or Federal Issued ID is required to be presented prior to entry for all individuals 18 and over. All individuals will be asked to sign in the logbook. All individuals under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

No bags, cases, parcels, cameras, cell phones, purses, backpacks, diaper bags, food, drink, or pets are allowed to enter the facility.

Visitors must wear close toe shoes to attend tours. Visitors must wear safety equipment supplied by the Corps of Engineers Tour Guide when asked, including but not limited to safety glasses, goggles, and hard hats.  

Please wait for your tour guide to escort you inside of the secure gated area. Please wait outside of the entry road inside your vehicles parked to the side of the drive, until directed to enter by your tour guide.

Restrooms will be made available prior and after the start of each tour. Once a tour has started there is not an option to leave the group to take a break.

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• November 15 - open 5:00 AM to 4:30 PM

Notice: Due to elevator maintenance, Guided Dam Tours ($30) will be unavailable from March 5 through March 7. Guided Power Plant ($15) are available.

Notice: Due to scheduled maintenance, Observation and Overlook level of the Visitor Center will be closed on Monday, April 8th. The projected re-opening date is tentatively scheduled for Friday, May 10th. Top of Dam remains opens for visiting and viewing until 7:00PM.

Notice: Due to scheduled remodel, the Exhibit Level and the ADA elevator to the observation deck will be unavailable prior to December 20th. The observation deck will be open to the public during these dates.

Notice: Due to scheduled maintenance, the top of the Dam viewing hours will be modified until April 26th, viewing open Sunday through Thursday 5:00AM to 7:00PM. Friday through Sunday viewing open 5:00AM to 9:00PM.

Guided Dam Tour $ 30

Extended Package Includes:

• Visit historic tour tunnels and ride original elevator to the top of Hoover Dam
• Walk through the inspection tunnels at the center of Hoover Dam
• View the Colorado River through the inspection ventilation shaft
• Guided Powerplant Tour

Accessible to:

Guided Power Plant Tour $ 15

UPGRADEABLE ON-SITE

Package Includes:

• Walk through original construction tunnels
• Visit the viewing platform overlooking a 30 foot diameter penstock – feel the vibration created by water rushing through the pipe
• See 8 of the commercial generators in the Nevada Powerhouse

Self-Guided Visitor Center Tour $ 10

• Immerse yourself in the history of Hoover Dam as you walk through our narrated exhibits
• Enjoy a 360 degree view of the Dam, Colorado River, Lake Mead and Hoover Bypass Bridge from the Observation Deck
• Visit the Original Exhibit Building with narrated 3D model of the region's dams and power systems

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Visiting Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam:  Open to the public daily from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (PST).

Hoover Dam Visitor Center and Tours : Open daily 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day). Doors close at 4:15 p.m. Last tour departs at 3:45 p.m.

Additional Information: (702) 494-2517 or (702) 494-2901

Email: [email protected]

Purchase tickets for your upcoming visit - This link will open a new window that takes you to our online ticket sales site. Major credit cards and cash accepted, no personal checks. Due to situations beyond our controls, tours may be cancelled with no prior notice – refunds will be provided.

Guided Dam Tour: Tickets CANNOT be purchased online, and are only sold on-site, in person, on a first come-first served basis. The entire group must be present at time of purchase. These tours routinely sell out, arriving early is recommended. No stroller or motorized wheelchairs on Dam Tour. Ventilation shaft is not accessible to manually operated wheelchairs. Please ask for more information prior to purchasing tickets.

Age Requirement: Visitors must be over the age of 16 to go on tour by themselves.

Persons with Claustrophobia : Be advised tours include elevator rides and walking through tunnels.

Click on image or link for large pdf version of map.

Hoover Dam is located 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas. Click here for maps and driving instructions.

Hours of Operation (Seven days per week)

Note: All times are for the Pacific Time Zone. Hoover Dam is accessible from 5 a.m. – 9 p.m. Powerplant Tour: 9 a.m. – tickets sold until 3:45 p.m. Visitor Center: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. No entry after 4:15 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Security Checkpoint

Most passenger vehicles can cross the dam. All vehicles are subject to inspection at the Nevada Security Checkpoint.  Visitors subject to vehicle inspection will be requested to open various compartments of their vehicle to include the trunk, hood, and storage areas.  Visitors who decline vehicle inspection will not be permitted access beyond the checkpoint.  Vehicles are prohibited from stopping on top of the dam, including the loading and unloading of passengers. Passengers can be picked up and dropped off using designated parking lots.  Drivers must remain attentive to pedestrians at all times.

Semi-trucks are prohibited from entering the dam site.

Vehicles towing campers or pop-up campers will be required to open compartments or extend their pop-up for inspection. NOTICE:  Offloading or disconnecting trailers, campers, or pop-up campers is strictly prohibited on Hoover Dam property.

Firearms, Explosives and Fireworks are Prohibited at Hoover Dam per 43 CFR 423.30.

Visitors with prohibited items will be turned away at the Nevada Security Checkpoint. Visitors who are found to have firearms, explosives, or fireworks may be cited by Law Enforcement and instructed to leave Hoover Dam property.

Flying drones is prohibited on Hoover Dam property per 43 CFR 423.41(g).

Marijuana is prohibited at Hoover Dam per 43 CFR 423.44.

Parking Garage:   Open 8:00 a.m. – 5:15 p.m. $10.00 parking fee. Complimentary parking is offered for those with accessibility needs. Please show your disabled person sticker/placard to the garage attendant. Motorhomes and other high clearance vehicles (with dimensions greater than 10.5 feet high and 23 feet long) CANNOT park in the parking garage. Parking for high clearance vehicles is available on the Arizona side of the property (see map).

Parking Lot 9 (Arizona side): Open 8:00 a.m. - 5:15 p.m. $10.00 parking fee. Parking available for high profile vehicles in non-covered marked spaces.

Upper Lots (Arizona side): Free. Oversized vehicles, recreational vehicles, and vehicles with trailers must park on the Arizona side of the dam, Lot #9 (fee $10 per vehicle), #13, and #14 (no charge).

Service animals specifically trained to aid a person with a disability are welcome. Comfort animals and pets are not allowed on top of the dam or in any buildings. Animals cannot be left in vehicles unattended.

Visitor Center Security Screening

Visitors will be required to process through the security screening before purchasing tickets.  Visitors are required to remove all metal objects from their pockets and person.  Visitors will be screened with a hand-held metal detector wand or may request a pat down in lieu of being handwanded.  All personal items (purses, jackets, etc.) will be physically inspected by security staff.  Any visitor with prohibited or dangerous items on their person will be instructed to return the item to their vehicle.

Items not allowed on tour or in any building at Hoover Dam

Weapons or knives of any size (including pocketknives) are NOT ALLOWED in any Hoover Dam building.

Bottled water is permitted. Food and drinks in sealed packaging allowed but may not be consumed in any building.

Stroller parking available on the plaza.

Sign Language

Sign language interpretation can be requested for guided tours with a minimum of 14 days advance notice, excluding holidays, by contacting 702-494-2518 or emailing [email protected] Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (PST). Guests will be contacted prior to their visit to verify arrangements. Tour scripts are available upon request.

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Wheelchairs are available to rent in parking garage for a charge of $5.00.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• A good portion of the Hoover Dam experience is outdoors, please plan for all types of weather.
• We suggest you dress comfortably and wear comfortable walking shoes.

APPROPRIATE ATTIRE: Attire that is not appropriate for the Dam (and which may result in refusal of admittance or ejection) includes, but is not limited to:

• Shirt and shoes are required when in any building
• Clothing with objectionable material, including obscene language or graphics
• Excessively torn clothing or loose-fitting clothing which may drag on the ground and create a potential trip hazard
• Clothing which, by nature, exposes excessive portions of the skin that may be viewed as inappropriate for a family environment

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Take a hydro plant technical tour at HYDROVISION International 2023

Attendees at HYDROVISION International 2023 can access an in-the-field technical tour that visits a hydroelectric plant and the Electric Power Research Institute’s laboratories.

HYDROVISION International is being held the week of July 10 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C., U.S.

Monday, July 10, features a full-day tour:

This tour starts with a visit to a historic hydroelectric plant in South Carolina and concludes with insights into the Electric Power Research Institute’s laboratory capabilities related to hydropower.

First, tour attendees will see the 6.5 MW Gaston Shoals hydroelectric plant, which started producing electricity the same year Henry Ford rolled out his first production vehicle. The plant, on the Broad River, is owned by Northbrook Carolina Hydro. You will tour the 1908 rubble masonry powerhouse and see three rubble masonry gravity dams. Today, the powerhouse contains two horizontal “Seagull” turbines and one vertical Francis unit that was added in 1923. In just the past 10 years, over $10 million in capital has been invested in the Gaston Shoals project to ensure long-term, renewable power will be provided to the local utility, Duke Energy Carolinas.

Next, attendees will visit one of EPRI’s laboratories in Charlotte and learn about the work done there that can be related to hydropower. This includes work in the Welding Laboratory, Machine Shop, Metallurgical/Microscopy Laboratories, Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE), and Transmission & Corrosion.

This technical tour is sponsored by Absher & Associates.

The tour costs $125, and space is limited. The deadline to sign up for this tour is June 21.

For more information on the tour, click here .

To register for HYDROVISION International, click here .

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Idaho Falls Hydroelectric Power Plant Tour

We provide tours at the City Hydroelectric Plant, which has been producing clean, reliable, renewable, and affordable energy around the clock for more than 100 years. The City Plant is located just south of the Broadway bridge. Tours for the public can be scheduled Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., and we welcome school and family groups or individuals.

On this tour, you will visit our energy services lobby where you can observe displays, maps, and dioramas which will help you understand how we generate electricity at our five, city owned, hydroelectric plants.

Please review additional tour details below:

Location: 140 South Capital Avenue. Please enter through the north-side "Customer Entrance." Duration: 30 minutes to 1 hour Total distance: 0.20 miles Handicap accessible: No Effort: Easy to Moderate. The tour does contain several flights of stairs, up and down.

Additional Tour Details:

Please email or call at least three weeks in advance for tour reservations, especially for large groups.

Children under 10 years old will not be permitted to tour inside the plant but are welcome to view the displays in our energy center. School groups: Only school groups of 4th grade and older can participate in the tour.

No more than 20 students in a tour group at one time. Two or more chaperones are also required. Ear protection is available upon request. Non-slip shoes are required!

For reservations and additional information, contact:

Attn: IFP Plant Tours [email protected] 208-612-8430

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Robert Moses Niagara Hydroelectric Power Station

Top ways to experience Robert Moses Niagara Hydroelectric Power Station and nearby attractions

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Iceland’s Most Surprising Tourist Attraction? Power Plants.

By Elissa Garay

Rising up from an otherwise desolate stretch of landscape, sinuous plumes of steam signal my arrival at Hellisheiði Power Plant, Iceland’s largest, and very much functioning, geothermal power station.

Touring a power plant might not immediately conjure up thoughts of vacation. But according to a 2016 Gallup poll, nearly half of Iceland's foreign tourists —who quickly learn how much of their itinerary is powered by green energy—have expressed interest in doing just that. And at a time when climate and energy-supply crises have driven up the cost of everything from groceries to airfare, and nations around the globe are clamoring for innovative clean-energy solutions to avert environmental disaster, it’s hard for visitors not to perk up over Iceland’s apparent victory over fossil fuel dependency.

“I was shocked by how easily geothermal and hydroelectric power had been implemented into life and culture,” Samantha Stockley, a 36-year-old nonprofit worker from Oklahoma who recently visited Iceland for the first time, told me. “This trip made me wish Americans had more renewable energy.”

I shared her sentiments. And over the course of my trip, as I learned about the influence of these geothermal and hydroelectric powerhouses—which together supply a staggering  85 percent of the country’s energy needs —I discovered that in fact the country’s sustainable energy landscape affords a tourism circuit all its own.

Iceland’s Ljósafoss Hydropower Station, along the River Sog, is among the power facilities offering visitor exhibits.

Iceland first began its transition to renewable energy in the early 1970s, in an effort to reduce its costly dependence on fossil fuels. Since then, the country has steadily become the world’s largest green energy producer per capita. Nearly 100 percent of its electricity is generated by renewable geothermal and hydroelectric energy, and nine out of 10 homes are heated with geothermal heat piped in from the earth’s interior. That energy is now not only responsible for powering, but producing some of its most popular attractions, including the famed Blue Lagoon , which, buoyed by a wealth of stunning natural sites, as well as affordable flights and stopovers, has handily contributed to the Iceland tourism boom that first began in 2010.

It’s little-known that the site’s milky pools are somewhat man-made—a byproduct of the neighboring Svartsengi geothermal power plant, where in the early 1980s local bathers first discovered the apparent healing properties of the silica-and algae-rich runoff that pooled in a reservoir beside the facility. The site tends to “invite curiosity” about geothermal energy, says Fannar Jonsson, the Blue Lagoon’s quality and environment manager, and the attraction provides interested guests with information both online and on-site about the neighboring geothermal facilities that power it.

“We went to the Blue Lagoon on the first day, and then we went to a local geothermal pool every other day,” says Stockley. The experience was “a highlight of the trip,” she says, and sparked her interest in Iceland’s energy landscape—and in returning to visit lesser-expected sites like Hellisheiði Power Plant.

The plant, which opened in 2006, is about a 25-minute drive southeast of Reykjavik, abutting the moss-slicked slopes of the active Hengill volcano. In this geologically turbulent region, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, heat generated from underground volcanic activity affords an immense wellspring of energy. Geothermal plants like Hellisheiði are designed to tap it by drilling deep into the Earth’s surface. Underground steam and hot water then generate heat through an extensive network of pipelines, or are converted to electricity using steam turbines. 

You can learn all about this process from the multimedia and interactive installations at the plant’s Geothermal Exhibition, part of the visitor center that was integrated into its initial design. That’s because there was an expectation, according to exhibition manager Laufey Guomundsdottir, that “there would be great interest in being able to see and visit the power plant” from curious visitors, who’d want to “feel and see the power of Mother Nature.” When the plant debuted the exhibit in 2007, it was the first geothermal plant in the world to feature such a display, she says.

The prediction proved accurate: Before the pandemic, the plant pulled in 100,000 visitors each year, a figure to which it is slowly returning. Academics, scientists, business leaders, and policy-makers from around the globe have taken notice, too. On the day I visit, the staff at Hellisheiði is preparing for a delegation of Baltic states’ presidents to arrive. Like me, they’ll peer through the interior windows onto the power plant’s inner mechanisms, where massive turbines roar and churn, and view the display of Icelandic rocks and minerals, some of which were until recently particles of carbon dioxide trapped in the atmosphere. 

Levi Mandel

Hannah Towey

Charlie Hobbs

Maresa Manara

I could have kept my family’s power plant tour going at several other sites, each of which debuted their own visitors centers in the 2010s: at the Krafla geothermal power station in northern Iceland , or the Kárahnjúkar hydropower plant in the eastern highlands, or even the Ljósafoss hydropower station, set along the River Sog, less than 30 miles from Hellisheiði. But instead we continued on to Laugarvatn Fontana, a geothermal spa facility situated along the lakefront in Laugarvatn—where we stopped at the café and discovered that geothermal energy could figure into a menu, too.

Baking with the earth’s natural heat was one of the first ways Icelanders began harnessing the geothermal power beneath their feet. It’s a technique that’s persevered at spots like Laugarvatn Fontana, which hosts tours of its geothermal bakery, where loaves of rye bread, known as hverabrauð, or hot spring bread, are baked for 24 hour-periods beneath volcanic black sand. This slow-cooking method can be found in other southern Iceland kitchens, particularly in the geothermally active town of Hveragerði, where hverabrauð sandwiches feature on the bakery menu, and at the geothermally powered Ölverk Pizza & Brewery, which has been serving up local brews since 2017.

Known as the greenhouse capital of Iceland , Hveragerði is part of a region that was once an agricultural wasteland, thanks to its barren lava landscapes and colder climes. But over the past century, it has grown to accommodate a gaggle of greenhouses, where farmers use geothermally powered heating and lights to turn out a year-round supply of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

In collaboration with the neighboring Hellisheiði Power Plant, the Climeworks facility (above) captures carbon from the atmosphere and converts it to rocks that are stored underground.

Less than an hour from Hveragerði, the family-run  Friðheimar Greenhouse is a good place to contemplate this transformation. The thriving greenhouse-cum-restaurant hosts tours for guests, and welcomes them to dine on its tomato-centric menu among the vines. My husband, daughter, and I tuck into tomato soup followed by mussels in a tomato seafood sauce before finishing up with cheesecake topped with green-tomato jam—what turns out to be our best meal in Iceland. Dóróthea Ármann, Friðheimar’s assistant managing director, explains that geothermal energy has made Friðheimar’s venture a more attainable and sustainable prospect: with their high energy demands, according to Ármann, the greenhouses require as much electricity as a town with 7,000 people.  

And there’s been no shortage of visitor interest. “It is very unique how we grow vegetables all year-round here in cold and dark Iceland, with help from nature,” says Ármann, noting that annual visitors to Friðheimar, which launched in 1995, have ballooned since it opened to the public, from 900 in 2008 to some 200,000 in 2022. Stockley would love to return to Iceland to check it out, she says, and to learn more about how Iceland’s renewable energy successes “could translate into something we see someday in the U.S.” 

In the end, she and I agree that we’ve both brought home the ultimate souvenir: hope that a green-energy future is indeed possible, having now glimpsed it firsthand. 

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Colorado: estes powerplant.

Freelan Oscar (F. O.) Stanley made a career putting water to work. Famous for co-inventing the steam-powered Stanley Steamer auto in 1897, he employed water yet again in 1909 to build a hydroelectric powerplant on the Fall River in Estes Park, Colorado. In 1903, Stanley had moved to little Estes Park, 65 miles northwest of Denver, to combat his tuberculosis. The dry mountain air and plentiful sunshine aided his recovery. In 1909, realizing the town’s need for tourist accommodations that matched its majestic scenery, he built the luxurious Stanley Hotel (later made famous as the inspiration of Stephen King’s 1977 thriller,  The Shining ). Desiring a world-class resort, Stanley built his powerplant to equip the country’s first “all-electric” hotel with wired heating, cooking, and lighting. The Town of Estes Park soon requested electricity for its street lights, and residents ordered the modern service for their homes. Hydroelectricity’s novel presence in Estes Park evolved, nearly 40 years later, when the Bureau of Reclamation also employed the town’s rugged terrain for a larger powerplant as part of its Colorado-Big Thompson Project. The Estes Powerplant, completed in 1950, was one of five new powerplants in a complex system that altered the region’s steep hills with tunnels, conduits, reservoirs, and hydropower plants to generate electricity as water for irrigation flowed down the east face of the Rockies.

  Although the Colorado and Big Thompson rivers rise within miles of each other in the peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park, the Continental Divide splits their basins, charging the Colorado to flow west, and the Big Thompson to flow east. Named for these two rivers, the Bureau of Reclamation’s Colorado-Big Thompson Project’s principal purpose was to divert a portion of the waters of the Colorado River from the West Slope of the Rocky Mountains to the Big Thompson River on the East Slope to stabilize agriculture on northeastern Colorado’s high plains. Delivering water to land already developed for farming was a departure from Reclamation’s earlier projects that typically functioned to reclaim the raw desert.

By the early 1870s, ambitious settlers of eastern Colorado’s high plains—an area labeled the “Great American Desert” by explorer Stephen Long—had completed extensive canal networks, inaugurating decades of agricultural growth east of the Colorado Rockies, in a region known as the Front Range. By the early 1890s, however, private interests identified Colorado’s paradox: more farmland than water east of the Rockies, and more water than farmland in the western half. They dreamed of transporting West Slope water to the east side, but the cost was too great.

As early as 1905, the U.S. Reclamation Service, established to develop irrigation projects in the West, surveyed trans-mountain diversion routes in Colorado, but the report collected dust as Reclamation instead pursued the Grand Valley Project in western Colorado. Despite the water shortage, private irrigation schemes continued along the Front Range, and the population more than doubled between 1900 and 1910. By that time, however, the river flows could not support the growing region. From 1925 to 1933, northeastern Colorado farms suffered a severe drought, receiving only a third of the irrigation water they needed, and $42 million in crops withered away. Regional economic stagnation loomed, and farmers on Colorado’s wind-swept plains looked longingly toward the Colorado River’s seemingly untapped waters west of the Continental Divide.

The dry plains motivated Alva B. Adams, a U.S. Senator from Colorado, to push for a Federal trans-mountain diversion project. However, the proposal to divert Colorado River water to eastern farms sparked controversy, especially from West Slope residents who felt diverting the river threatened their region’s future growth and stability. Adams enlisted the help of the Union Pacific and Burlington railroads, Great Western Sugar Company, and city chambers of commerce along the Front Range. That arsenal of political and corporate power supported the 1934 organization of the Northern Colorado Water Users Association, which became the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD) in 1937, and Reclamation’s partner for the project. Congress and the resilient project opponents, led by U.S. Congressman Edward T. Taylor from Colorado, eventually reached a compromise—the project would commence with a West Slope dam, reservoir, and powerplant at Green Mountain to store replacement water for future West Slope use. (For more information about the Green Mountain Powerplant, the project’s only powerplant fed by a dam and reservoir system, rather than by penstocks, see the Green Mountain site despriction ). Then, Reclamation would continue with the construction of its labyrinth of pipes and reservoirs to bring the water east. In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the Colorado-Big Thompson Project.

The Colorado-Big Thompson Project took 19 years—from 1937 to 1958—to finish constructing all components. Costly snags required redesign of the trans-basin, trans-mountain diversion structures, and war-time inflation ballooned the original project estimate of $50 million to $162 million, compelling Reclamation to expand its original plan for one powerplant to six—the original West Slope plant at Green Mountain, plus five on the East Slope. The final design resembles stair steps; a step going up the West Slope of the Rocky Mountains, then four steps down the East Slope. On the West Slope, the water is pumped up from a lower reservoir to a higher one, then through a 13.1 mile tunnel, named the Alva B. Adams Tunnel, which pierces the Rockies at an elevation of 8,300 feet above sea level. On the East Slope, tunnels, siphons, conduits, and canals carry water down the mountains and across land, where the falling water runs through five powerplants to generate electricity. Water is then released into the Big Thompson and other rivers as well as into canals for irrigation use. In all, water drops about 2,800 feet from the Adams Tunnel’s eastern portal to the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, making it a situation ideal for hydroelectric generation.

In 1947, work on the project’s west-side dams and canals was near completion and the Adams Tunnel under Rocky Mountain National Park had been bored and lined with concrete. Crews then began construction of the Estes Park Aqueduct and East Slope power system. By 1949, however, the unfinished Mary’s Lake Powerplant and Estes Powerplant stood in the way of a complete link between the Adams Tunnel and the Big Thompson River. Farmers on the Front Range waited in anticipation, as they had for nearly two decades, for supplemental flows from the Colorado River.

The next year, the finally complete Estes Powerplant began operation. The rectangular, reinforced concrete structure and its switchyard are located on the eastern edge of Estes Park, at the west end of Lake Estes. The Colorado River’s first stop upon exiting the Adams Tunnel’s east portal was Marys Lake and Powerplant. Then, it flowed through underground pipes to the Estes Powerplant, where it spun three 15,000 kilowatt units, then exited through one of two routes: some discharged into Lake Estes (which is 97 percent Colorado River water), where it flowed past Olympus Dam into the Big Thompson River; the rest discharged to a series of tunnels toward the southern “power arm,” where it generated electricity at three stops—Pole Hill, Flat Iron, and Big Thompson powerplants.

Up at the Estes Powerplant, electrical engineers had to figure out how to send power generated there to the West Slope to supplement Green Mountain power used to operate the pumping stations that sent water up and over the Continental Divide. The obvious route required a giant, mountain-climbing transmission line over the Rocky Mountains. However a creative contractor put in a proposal to instead build a 69,000 kilovolt (kV) “submarine cable” line that would be strung through the Alva B. Adams Tunnel under Rocky Mountain National Park. Persuaded by the clear advantages of a line that would not need to scale the Continental Divide, Reclamation chose this option, creating two-way traffic in the tunnel as power zipped west to pump water that flowed back east, which in turn generated more electricity that returned west.  The majority of electricity from the Estes Powerplant takes a second route, firing into the electrical grid, where it becomes available for purchase—earning revenues that cushioned the project’s 9-digit price tag. Along with easing the financial burden for the project’s water users, hydroelectricity from the Estes Powerplant helps steady the grid, stabilizing power delivery and prices. The Colorado-Big Thompson’s power system generates over 750 million kilowatt hours annually—enough to power over 58,000 homes a year. Some of the energy fuels the West Slope pumping plants, while most is marketed by the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) and sold to users in Colorado, eastern Wyoming, and western Nebraska.

The Colorado-Big Thompson Project, with the Boulder Canyon and Colombia Basin Projects that constructed Hoover and Grand Coulee dams, respectively—was one of several large New Deal-era projects that served to reorient Reclamation into a multi-purpose agency. The Colorado-Big Thompson Project also represents Reclamation’s evolution into an agency that aided already established agricultural communities to grow and have a more reliable water supply, rather than developing new farming opportunities in the West. (In 1957, in the first full year of operation, Colorado-Big Thompson water serviced 720,000 irrigated acres, earning project farmers a $68.7 million harvest, with 98 percent of the water serving northern Colorado farms.) This role continued to morph as Reclamation’s mission changed from construction of great water projects to operation and maintenance of its current water storage and delivery facilities. Today, the Bureau of Reclamation’s mission is to “manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public.”

The Colorado-Big Thompson Project was determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance as one of the largest and most complex systems ever to be built by the Bureau of Reclamation. In 2010, the Estes Powerplant was determined to be a contributing feature of a potential sub-district within the larger Colorado-Big Thompson trans-mountain diversion system. The powerplant is located on the eastern edge of Estes Park on the upper end of Lake Estes, which serves as the afterbay for the powerplant. The reinforced concrete structure is relatively unadorned, however the 24 panels of glass blocks, 12 on the north side and 12 on the south side, provide architectural interest while also supplying natural lighting for the interior, where three generator/turbine units are housed. These units are fed by three, 78-inch diameter, plate steel penstocks, 4,000 feet in length—a 600 foot-long portion of the penstocks run above ground on a hill southwest of the plant.

Visit the National Park Service  Travel Bureau of Reclamation's Historic Water Projects  to learn more about dams and powerplants.

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Last updated: January 13, 2017

PHOTO TOUR: Provo Canyon's 117-year-old Olmsted Hydroelectric Power Plant

by Adam Forgie, KUTV

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The story behind the groundbreaking, historic hydroelectric power plant at the mouth of Provo Canyon in Orem, Utah begins seven years prior to its 1904 completion date.

2News took a tour of the power plant, which is explained in better detail in our photo gallery above or by clicking here .

In 1897, The Telluride Power Company, along with Lucien L. Nunn, began hydroelectric power generation about 4.5 miles up the canyon, at Nunn's Station, which was "the first high-voltage, long-distance, alternating power transmission system in the world," according to the Central Utah Water Conservancy District. The station generated power that was transmitted over 32 miles to the old mining town of Mercur, Utah in Tooele County. Mercur is now a ghost town.

The turn of the century brought about a much higher demand for power, which prompted Nunn to move the power station to the mouth of Provo Canyon "to take advantage of the increased water drop for greater pressure on the turbines that produced the power," the conservancy district said.

The new station, which opened on April 12, 1904, was designed by Fay Devaux "Fred" Olmsted, a University of Michigan engineering graduate from Colorado. Tuberculosis killed Olmsted before the plant was completed, and the plant was then named after him.

Once the new plant was completed, Nunn decided to create the "Telluride Institute," which was an on-site campus electrical engineering teaching facility. It was one of only two such facilities in the United States at the time. The school provided on-the-job training for electrical engineers, and is still in existence today at Cornell University.

The historic Olmsted Power House, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places and much of the equipment within the building, is currently being turned into a museum. The plant was decommissioned on Sept. 21, 2015.

Much of the equipment inside the power plant is original and some of it was used up until fairly recently.

The Central Utah Water Conservancy District explains more about the plant in further detail below.

"In 1912, the Telluride Power Company stockholders, desiring to focus on power generation, split off the power assets from the educational functions and offered them for sale. The stockholders formed a new company, Utah Power and Light (UP&L), to purchase the power assets. UP&L was the successful bidder and took ownership of the Olmsted power station. UP&L made several improvements to the Olmsted plant, including the installation of an additional turbine and generator set and replacing the wooden flume with the Olmsted Flowline, or Green Snake – a large, green steel pipe that carried the water from the Provo River diversion to the power plant.

"In 1987, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation secured ownership of the Olmsted Flowline and the associated water rights as an essential part of the Central Utah Project (CUP). In the associated 1990 Settlement Agreement, the Olmsted Hydroelectric Power Plant was added to the CUP to better secure and develop the water rights. The Olmsted Settlement Agreement permitted PacifiCorp to continue to operate and receive the energy produced from the Olmsted Power Plant through September 21, 2015. That Settlement Agreement expired on September 22, 2015 and power generation at the site ceased.

"The continued operation of the Olmsted power plant is essential to maintaining the Olmsted Water Rights, which are a large, critical part of the water supply of CUP. In 2010, after a comprehensive evaluation of the power plant systems, it was determined that the existing facilities were well past their useful life and design of a replacement power plant began.

"Construction of the Olmsted Hydroelectric Power Plant Replacement Project began in the summer of 2016. Work included a rehabilitation of an existing 102-inch pipeline, lining the existing 12-foot rock-tunnel with an 84-inch steel pipeline, constructing a new cliff spillway structure, surge tank, 84-inch buried penstock and power house with new hydroelectric equipment and installation of a new power transmission line to the Provo Power system.

"The new Olmsted plant is a “run of the river” plant producing power only when water demands from downstream users necessitate water deliveries. The total cost of the replacement project is approximately $42 million. Commercial power production will commence in October 2018. The Olmsted Power Plant is a Federal facility operated and maintained by the Central Utah Water Conservancy District producing power marketed by the Western Area Power Authority serving local customers including CUWCD, Provo Power, Utah Municipal Power Authority, Utah Associated Power Systems, Weber Basin Water Conservancy District and the cities of Lehi and Kaysville."

Verdi Hydroelectric Power Plant Tour – August 28, 2024

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• « Verdi Hydroelectric Power Plant Tour – Aug. 21, 2024
• Tour – Chalk Bluff Water Treatment Plant – Sept. 3, 2024 »

Customers are invited to tour the Verdi Hydroelectric Power Plant, which has been producing clean, renewable energy for 100 years. The tours are open to all TMWA customers. Participants must be at least 18 years of age. Please email [email protected] or call 834-8290 to reserve your spot. Each tour is limited to 20 people.

E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 834-8290

All attendees will be required to sign a liability waiver before participating in the tour. Attendees must be a minimum of 18 years of age or accompanied by an adult.

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• Friday, April 12, 2024

Architectural Tour: Safe Harbor Hydroelectric Plant

This is an edited excerpt from the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County’s 2004 Historic Conestoga Township Architectural Tour book, where I currently serve as a board member. Click here to purchase a hardcopy of this excellent  31-page publication.

The Dam at Safe Harbor

The original portion of the Safe Harbor plant is representative of early modern industrial design. Taken from the tradition of grand halls, markets and train stations, the building is designed with a sense of strength, interior openness, and verticality. The building is functional, as expressed in the large open hall of the turbines. This is a soaring space, filled with light from the 60 feet high windows facing south on the river.

There are 8 bays of 3 window units each, to the west of a taller, wider bay with a single full light window unit. To the east of this anchoring element, are two more tall bays and a lower 2-story entrance bay attached. The 1986 addition, though equally functional from an operating point of view, is designed with two levels of individual window units and, as such, loses the soaring quality of the original building.

Both were built of the ochre-colored brick and the bays area defined with salient piers. The upper heads of the windows of both structures align and create a sense of continuity despite the differences in architectural expression.

The primary bays of the original structure have shallow arched openings, the arches being a cast concrete, which creates a distinct articulation of the windows. The large taller bay toward the east end has a full half-round arch opening and projects slightly from the face of the western length of the building, emphasizing its architectural and functional prominence as the connecting link between the plant and the office and support facilities.

A Brief History of Safe Harbor Area

The area we now call Safe Harbor was important to the Indians and traders of the 1600s, and to the European settlers that arrived in the early 1700s. Fishing and farming were early occupations.

Old deeds and records for land along the west bank of the Conestoga near its mouth refer to sales in “Millersport, commonly known as Safe Harbor.” Millersport, however, did not persist as a place name, and the area on both sides of the river has continued to be called Safe Harbor. One theory is that the name Safe Harbor refers to the deep waters of the river where the Conestoga flows into it, providing a “safe harbor” for the arks and rafts whose crews had successfully passed Turkey Hill. These travelers were glad to reach the comparative quiet of the creek for a rest before facing the dangerous rapids below the Conestoga.

The name Safe Harbor first appeared in public print when a notice by Adam Fogle, Jacob Eshelman Jr., and Henry Brackbill was placed in the Lancaster Intelligencer & Weekly Advertiser in 1808. It reported the erection of “a large and commodious Storehouse on the Bank of the Mouth of the Conestoga, called Safe Harbor.”

The practice of moving cargo clown river only, and restricted to periods when the river flow was high enough to make passage possible, could not meet the demands of the expanding economy. An endeavor was established to provide two-way navigation.

Construction began in 1802 for a canal system & locks large enough to accommodate log rafts, as well as, ark and keelboats. This system was in service for about 30 years. Plans were made for nine lock-clam combinations to take care of the 63 feet total lift in the 18-mile stretch from Lancaster to Safe Harbor. The operation started in 1828, but with several closures. In 1840 regular operation began again. Following other canal-lock installations on both sides of the river, the combined project became known as the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal. The canal system ceased operation following flood and ice damage and with the advent of railroads.

Safe Harbor Iron Works added industry to the area and produced rails for the expanding railroads in the state. The iron works continued running steadily until 1865, when the dam across the Susquehanna River, which connected the Conestoga Canal with the Tidewater canal, was destroyed, cutting off the principal means of access and use.

The period 1885 to 1904 was relatively uneventful except for the brief operation of the Safe Harbor Match Factory. Adolph Segal of Philadelphia bought the Iron Works in 1894 and installed equipment in the old rolling mill for the manufacture of blue-tipped phosphorous matches. Employment was provided for many men who had been idled by the second closing of the Iron Works. Photographs reveal that the payroll included a large portion of women and children. Operations ceased in 1899.

When the first passenger train rolled to a stop at the tiny station on July 1, 1877, Safe Harbor was placed on the nation’s railroad map. This rail line carried in much of the materials and heavy machinery used in the construction of the Safe Harbor hydroelectric project.

The other railroad that enters Safe Harbor is the Atglen & Susquehanna Branch of the former Pennsylvania Railroad. Locally, it is known as the “Low Grade Line,” though it occupies “high ground” in the Safe Harbor area. This line is now proposed for a public Rail Trail. Safe Harbor came into being as a result of evolution in the nation’s electric generating industry and from the activities of the early risk-taking developers on the Susquehanna. Careful and thorough planning by dedicated men of the Pennsylvania Water & Power Company and Consolidated Gas Electric Light and Power Company brought the project to fruition.

Safe Harbor Dam Construction

Actual work in the river began in April 1930. The decision to proceed with the project, despite the stock market crash in October 1929, was a boost to the sagging economy in the local area. It provided much needed jobs and proved to be a prudent move as labor and materials were plentiful, and costs were lower than at any time since.

Construction of a run-of-river hydroelectric facility is unique in that the dam and powerhouse must be built on the river bottom. This feat is accomplished through the use of cofferdams. This requires the un-watering of the stream bed one section at a time so that the bedrock surface can be prepared for the placement of concrete. The station started generating power on December 7, 1931, only 20 months after work was started in the river.

In 1955, the Pennsylvania Water and Power Company merged into the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company. At maximum output, the 12-unit hydro generator powerhouse can generate 10 million kilowatts (kWh) of electrical energy per clay. The average yearly generation is 1,079,793,000 kWh. The total output of Safe Harbor is supplied to co-owners, Pennsylvania Power & Light Company, and Baltimore Gas & Electric Company to supplement power flow into the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection.

Safe Harbor power is used primarily to meet peak demands for electricity. Continuous operation occurs when river flow equals or exceeds the plant’s maximum water handling capacity of 110,000 cubic feet per second or 450 gallons per minute.

Safe Harbor maintains 2,330 acres available for recreational activities. The Susquehanna River watershed consists of 45.5% of the land area of Pennsylvania and 13% of the State of New York. It supplies 50% of the freshwater entering the Chesapeake Bay.

Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County

This was an edited excerpt from the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County’s 2004 Historic Conestoga Township Architectural Tour book, where I currently serve as a board member. Click here to purchase a hardcopy of this excellent  31-page publication.

Consider following the Trust on Facebook for more architectural information and history from all over Lancaster County. You can also read more on the Trust’s blog.

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thanks. My Uncle helped build the cofferdam.

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Georgetown Energy Museum

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 11-5 MEMORIAL DAY THRU LABOR DAY

Georgetown, Colorado is just 40 miles west of Denver along I-70. Take Exit 228 and follow the signs to downtown Georgetown. The museum is located at the east end of 6th Street on the corner of Griffith Street.

600 Griffith Street Georgetown, CO 80444

This museum is located in a fully functioning and operational hydroelectric generating plant in Georgetown, Colorado. Built in 1900, this energy museum tells the story of grit and determination of the great Clear Creek County to build hydroelectric plants and light up The Rocky Mountain town of Georgetown, Colorado

Our History

Georgetown Energy Museum is located in a fully functioning and operational Hydroelectric generating plant in Georgetown, Colorado. The plant is owned and operated by Xcel Energy. It has been in operation since1900.

The museum includes exhibits and photographs and also household / consumer appliances relating the the early use of electricity.

GEM is a separate Colorado non-profit 501C3 organization which leases a portion of the hydroelectric plant from Xcel Energy, for the purposes of preservation and interpretation of this plant. It provides a general history of hydroelectric power.

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Keokuk Renewable Energy Center

100 years of clean, low cost, reliable power 

Since 1913, Ameren Missouri’s Keokuk Energy Center has harnessed the power of the mighty Mississippi River. The hydroelectric power plant creates clean, low cost and reliable energy, generating enough electricity annually to power 75,000 homes.  Clean Known as a “run-of-river” plant, Keokuk Energy Center uses the natural energy of falling water to generate electricity. This constant, renewable energy source doesn't produce any air emissions or solid waste, keeping our environment cleaner. Low Cost Because the energy center uses water instead of fuel, operating costs at Keokuk Energy Center are well below those of nuclear or fossil fuel plants. For example, an average day of operation at Keokuk saves the equivalent of 1,000 tons of coal. This reduces Ameren Missouri’s overall fuel costs, helping us to keep rates low for our customers. Reliable Additionally, because a hydro power plant can be started in minutes, unlike fossil or nuclear fuel plants, Keokuk plays a vital role in the reliability of Ameren Missouri’s power supply system. It can provide needed power in a system emergency and help meet electrical demand during “peak” periods. How It All Began In addition to playing an important role in the Ameren Missouri system, the Keokuk Energy Center is also an engineering marvel, known as the greatest water development project of its time, and the birthplace of inventions that forever changed the transmission of electrical power. As far back as 1836, the site in Keokuk, IA was identified as a potential source of power. A surveyor for the U.S. War Department named Robert E. Lee (who would later become the commander of the Confederate Army during the Civil War) called attention to this turbulent and steep section of the Mississippi River, known as the Des Moines Rapids. But no one was able to control it. In 1899, a group of prominent men from Keokuk and neighboring Hamilton, IL, got together. They planned to employ the river’s power with a dam to generate electricity and attract businesses to the area. The company they created spent the next several years securing funds, conducting a feasibility study and finally getting legislation passed by the Federal Government to approve the project. The company then sought an engineering talent who could handle the massive project. Hugh L. Cooper, who had engineered construction of a hydro plant at Niagara Falls, NY, was selected. Construction financing was finally secured with the backing of contracts to supply electrical power to three customers in the St. Louis area (Union Electric Light and Power Company, Laclede Gas Company, and streetcar operator United Railways Company).

Classy Classes: CEE107A students visit largest hydroelectric dam in California

A group of CEE107A: “Understand Energy” students visited Shasta Dam in November to learn about its impact on California’s electricity and freshwater supply.

The dam, which is nearly twice as wide as the Hoover Dam and one of the tallest dams in the United States, lies across the Sacramento River in Northern California. Shasta’s power plant operates five turbines that generate enough electricity to supply half a million homes, which is approximately 4% of California’s population.

“Shasta is the most important thing for the state of California,” said Kevin Jacobs, an operations and maintenance manager at the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation. “It is not a local dam. It delivers power and water throughout the state, all the way down to Bakersfield.”

After learning about Shasta’s history and construction, the group of students was led on a tour to the base of the dam and generating station. The group also entered a tunnel, extending partially through the thick of the dam, where copper cooling tubes were seen through the concrete blocks.

Brennan Lieu ‘25 was among many grateful students who went on the trip. 

“[The trip] was an amazing educational experience,” Lieu said. “Typically we learn from books or articles; visiting Shasta Dam in person allowed us to appreciate its scale and importance. It also allowed us to ask questions to the experts that work at the dam.”

Shasta Dam is located in Redding, Calif., about a four-hour drive north of Stanford’s campus. It was completed in 1945, though it started generating electricity a year prior to its completion to aid with the WWII effort. Considered a modern feat of engineering, Shasta Dam provides power and water throughout the state.

After learning the history of Shasta Dam, students embarked on a guided tour through exclusive areas normally closed to the public. They walked to the base of the towering structure, stepping within feet of the five school bus-sized penstocks that carry water from Shasta Lake to the turbines in the power plant.

“Visiting gave me more depth into the scale of it all — the dam was massive,” Kai Mottley ‘26 said. “It also helped me visualize the construction process more; from what I remember, they didn’t use any [steel] rebar. They placed concrete in these big blocks, building the dam like legos.”

Students also had a chance to visit the generating station, where the turbine produced an audible whir.

“What I found to be the most interesting is how the dam uses turbines to generate electrical power from the gravitational potential energy of the water,” Lieu said. “There are five turbines, each of which can produce more than 100 megawatts (MW). The entire Stanford Campus has a peak power demand of 42 MW, which goes to show the true size and scale of the dam.”

During the tour, only one of the five generators was running. Jacobs explained the rationale behind the lowered generating capacity. 

“One of the best things about hydroelectric power is that we can immediately turn on a turbine to match demand,” Jacobs said. “Right now the demand is low, so only one [turbine] is running.”

The original purpose of Shasta Dam, though, was not for hydroelectric power. “The dam was built for water control and water storage, not purely for hydropower,” Jacobs said. “During big winters, [Sacramento river] would flood the entire Sacramento city if there wasn’t the dam.”

All students in CEE107A are provided with opportunities to visit energy facilities on and off campus. There are several trips offered each quarter, and each student chooses to attend one or two. This class is held every fall and spring quarter.

Steven is a writer for The Daily. Contact them at news ‘at’ stanforddaily.com.

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Blog of the Textual Records Division at the National Archives

The Text Message

Water, Water, Everywhere – Hydroelectric Power Plants in the National Register

Today’s post is by John LeGloahec, Archivist in the Electronic Records Division at the National Archives in College Park, MD.

Hydroelectric Power is one of the largest sources of renewable energy and is a popular means of providing power, as long as there was a water source and there was the means to construct a plant to harness the water.  There are more that four hundred properties in the records of the National Register (National Archives Identifier 20812721 ) with the search term “ hydroelectric ” (and only about 180 when you add “ power ” to the search).

In Iosco County Michigan, is the Cooke County Dam (National Archives Identifier 25339562 ) on the AuSable River, “in the northeastern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The historic district consists of three major components: a Generating Facility, an Attendant’s House, and a Storage Shed. The Generating Facility, one of six on the AuSable, straddles the river approximately twenty-two river miles upstream (west) of its mouth at Lake Huron. The Attendant’s House and the Storage Shed stand nearby on the river’s south bank.”

“The Cooke Hydroelectric Plant has undergone few alterations since it went on line in 1912. At an undetermined date, a switching station was installed in the northeast corner of the powerhouse and an enclosed, air-conditioned office was built around the switchboard near the downstream (east) wall of the building . . . By the end of the 1940s, the substation was moved to its current location near the southeast corner of the powerhouse, replacing an earlier incarnation that was situated east of the Attendant’s House. In 1957, the original transformers, which had been installed in the southern end of the powerhouse in 1911, were removed.”

“The Cooke Hydroelectric Plant . . . was the site of a record-breaking transmission voltage made possible by improvements to transmission line hardware. The 140,000-volt transmission line from Cooke in 1912 surpassed the pressure carried on any other line in the world.”

Crossing the Tennessee River in Alabama is the Wilson Dam (National Archives Identifier 77835635 ), which “spans the Tennessee River between Florence (north) and Muscle Shoals (south), Alabama. It stands at an elevation of 508 feet and 259.4 miles above the junction of the Tennessee with the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky. Wilson Dam Highway (State Route 133) crosses the Tennessee on a 20-foot road way along the top of the dam.”

“Wilson Dam was erected by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1918-25 and turned over to the TVA when that agency was established in 1933. Wilson is a concrete gravity dam on a blue limestone rock foundation. The total length of the structure is 4,535 feet, the height 137 feet, and the maximum width at the base (including the apron) is 160 feet. The head–the water depth on the upper side of the dam (east)—is 97.6 feet. There were originally 58 spillway gates in the face of the dam, each capable of discharging 10,000 cubic feet of water per second.”

In Idaho, on the Snake River, is the Swan Falls Dam Plant (National Archives Identifier 84248912 ), “originally constructed in 1900, was designed by A. J. Wiley and consisted of two dam sections, each 450′ long, divided by a lava promontory. A power plant was east of the promontory and on top of the dam, on the Ada County side of the river. In 1907 a power plant was built east of the original, and in 1910 another plant was constructed west of the original.”

“When large scale lode mining came to Silver City, scarcity of wood or coal hampered development of major Florida mountain silver properties, particularly the Trade Dollar and the Black Jack. Not too much timber grew in that rather arid section. Shortage of fuel became “a source of expense and embarrassment” during the Panic of 1893. Hydroelectric power offered a possible answer to the problem . . . In 1894 a Boise mining engineer, A.D. Foote, set out to locate a good Snake river power site for Silver City . . . His final choice was Swan Falls, only twenty eight miles from the mines. Unable to finance such a venture, Foote finally found a mine management position in Grass Valley, California. But Wiley, a young Boise engineer starting out on an outstanding career, kept up his interest in Swan Falls power. Wiley was running a Snake river fine gold dredge at Grand View in the summer of 1898 when a local electric plant began operation in Silver City and when the Trade Dollar and Black Jack managers began to show interest in bringing in electric power from Swan Falls.”

There are a number of properties in the National Register concerning the Tennessee Valley Authority, specifically its efforts concerning hydroelectric power, Tennessee MPS Pre-TVA Hydroelectric Power Development in Tennessee MPS (National Archives Identifier 135817335 ).  This file notes, “The first production of electricity in Tennessee by means of hydropower was an early twentieth century phenomenon. While strides had been made in the late nineteenth century in other areas of the United States and in Europe, it was not until 1901, when local entrepreneurs in Middle Tennessee began to see the potential to electrify cities and towns with hydropower, that construction actually began. Some smaller attempts utilizing the limited power of creeks and streams were successful earlier, but these were extremely limited and idiosyncratic in nature. Hydroelectric power would, however, develop in Tennessee to the stature of giant public utility corporations producing electricity for the entire state by means of hydro- and coal-burning steam-powered generating facilities.” “The earliest commercial application of electricity in Tennessee was in the City of Chattanooga on May 6, 1882, when a small steam-powered electrical generating plant lit some street lights. According to the Chattanooga Times for May 7, 1882: “The lights first appeared at 8 p.m., and the crowd at once surged to all points where…visible. The effect was grandly beautiful.” This is significant in itself inasmuch as Thomas Edison initiated his system for lighting in New York City, at 257 Pearl Street, on September 4, 1882, four months after the Chattanooga experience. One public electrical industry source claims that “Chattanooga is universally credited with installing the first central station in the South.” Nashville soon followed suit, but the production of electrical power was accomplished by the use of steam engines to drive the generators. One of the early dynamos used for street-lighting in Chattanooga was, as reported in 1933, “preserved by Henry Ford’s shrine to Thomas Edison in the Edison Institute at Dearborn, Michigan.” Electric power in Tennessee cities was created by steam power until early in the twentieth century. Chattanooga, Memphis, Knoxville, and Nashville shared this means of electrical production with other cities in America until technological improvements would allow the transmission of electrical power over greater distances.”

In Pierce County, Washington, is the Nisqually Power Substation (National Archives Identifier 75612988 ) which holds a “central role in the City of Tacoma’s pioneering efforts as one the first cities in the country to construct, manage and deliver hydroelectric power through a publicly owned utility system. The building is also important as a remarkably intact early example of power station architecture as it evolved into large-scale public works forms later seen in municipal public works buildings, hydroelectric projects, and dams throughout the country. The southern Puget Sound area, by virtue of its location in Washington State’s unique geological environment, was a prime location for the development of hydroelectric power well before the massive Columbia River projects of the Federal government in the 1930’s. Western Washington seemed, at the end of the 19 th century, to have an inexhaustible supply of water and the plentiful river systems fed by Mt. Rainier and the Cascade Mountains presented a promising opportunity for dam construction and power generation. The Nisqually River hydroelectric dam and generating plant at La Grande, along with the transmission lines and central city substation, were put into service in 1912. The publicly funded and built system provided power to the entire city and became the first municipal effort in Washington State to harvest hydropower outside a recognized political jurisdiction.”

“The Nisqually Substation remained an important location for Tacoma Public Utilities until the late 1950s. At that time, a new open air, fully automated substation was built across the street and the original substation was deemed obsolete. In December of 1960 the building was sold empty of all original electrical equipment to Leo and John Gallagher of the Puget Sound Mattress and Felt Company for $30,500. PSM&F Co. owned the building until 1965, when they sold it to Tacoma Plastics, Inc. Tacoma Plastics owned and used the building as a molding plant and shipping operation for about thirty years. In 2000, the building was sold to glass artist Dale Chihuly and is currently undergoing restoration. The Nisqually Power Substation is no longer connected to the municipal power system. Its original function has long since been computerized and relocated, but the powerful building and its distinctive architectural form continues to convey more than just an obsolete purpose and dated message. Like a retired railroad station, this very specialized structure completes an important sentence in the region’s narrative, explaining in brick and stone how the natural environment was exploited and imported into the city for social and industrial purposes. It also demonstrates the monumental importance of public works projects during the first decades of the century when the scope of government projects and collective public endeavors was expanding in America. Twenty years after the Nisqually substation was built, U.S. Senator Homer T. Bone from Tacoma used the success of his hometown’s efforts to build its own hydroelectric system to bolster Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plans to build federal dams and power plants on the Columbia River. In a region where hydroelectric power transformed the frontier into a modem economy, the Nisqually substation is emblematic of the earliest efforts at building publicly owned utilities and shared systems of economic advancement and basic human needs.”

In Clackamas County in Oregon, “the River Mill Hydroelectric Project, built in 1911 by the Portland Railway Light and Power Company, consists of an assemblage of concrete industrial structures spanning the channel of the Clackamas River in the vicinity of Estacada, Oregon.”

“The River Mill Hydroelectric Project is located on the Clackamas River, slightly less than a mile east of the city of Estacada, in Clackamas County, Oregon. Estacada, the sole incorporated city in the so-called “Upper Clackamas Valley,” was established in 1905. The development is located off “River Mill Road,” east of State Highway 211. Primarily located within the channel of the Clackamas River, a year-round river that begins in the mountainous area to the southeast and drains into the Willamette River near West Linn. The Estacada vicinity is an area of small shelves and valleys within a generally wooded terrain, much of which is within the Mt. Hood National Forest. The River Mill Hydroelectric Project itself is a part of the larger “Clackamas Project,” a four unit hydroelectric system developed and operated by the Portland General Electric Company and its various predecessors as detailed in Section 8. Within that system the waters of the Clackamas first flow through the Oak Grove plant (1924/1931). Approximately 13 miles downstream they reach the facilities at North Fork (1958). The Faraday plant (1907- 1910) is 2.5 miles east of North Fork and River Mill, the northeastern most facility in the Clackamas System, is located 1.25 miles downstream.”

As the United States was coming out of the Great Depression, one of the projects that helped was the formation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the hydroelectric projects across the South.  There is a file in the National Register records concerning Tennessee MPS [Multiple Property Submission] Pre-TVA Hydroelectric Power Development in Tennessee (National Archives Identifier 135817335 ).  “The first production of electricity in Tennessee by means of hydropower was an early twentieth century phenomenon. While strides had been made in the late nineteenth century in other areas of the United States and in Europe, it was not until 1901, when local entrepreneurs in Middle Tennessee began to see the potential to electrify cities and towns with hydropower, that construction actually began. Some smaller attempts utilizing the limited power of creeks and streams were successful earlier, but these were extremely limited and idiosyncratic in nature. Hydroelectric power would, however, develop in Tennessee to the stature of giant public utility corporations producing electricity for the entire state by means of hydro- and coal-burning steam-powered generating facilities.”

“The earliest commercial application of electricity in Tennessee was in the City of Chattanooga on May 6, 1882, when a small steam-powered electrical generating plant lit some street lights. According to the Chattanooga Times for May 7, 1882: “The lights first appeared at 8 p.m., and the crowd at once surged to all points where…visible. The effect was grandly beautiful.” This is significant in itself inasmuch as Thomas Edison initiated his system for lighting in New York City, at 257 Pearl Street, on September 4, 1882, four months after the Chattanooga experience. One public electrical industry source claims that “Chattanooga is universally credited with installing the first central station in the South.” Nashville soon followed suit, but the production of electrical power was accomplished by the use of steam engines to drive the generators. One of the early dynamos used for street-lighting in Chattanooga was, as reported in 1933, “preserved by Henry Ford’s shrine to Thomas Edison in the Edison Institute at Dearborn, Michigan.” Electric power in Tennessee cities was created by steam power until early in the twentieth century. Chattanooga, Memphis, Knoxville, and Nashville shared this means of electrical production with other cities in America until technological improvements would allow the transmission of electrical power over greater distances.”

“Winchester, in Franklin County, became the first Tennessee city to develop a hydroelectric power station. In 1898, the city floated a $15,000 bond issue in order to pay for the project. In 1900, the City of Winchester solicited William Jackson Dodge, a self-taught electrical engineer of the Nashville Electric Steam Plant, to build the premier hydroplant in the volunteer state. Built on the Elk River, the “Loop Plant” was located some 6 1/2 miles from the city and was completed in 1901, fittingly, the first year of the new twentieth century. “It consisted of a concrete dam 20 feet high in a narrow bend, or ‘loop,’ in the river from which the plant derived its name.” A flume, which would become a familiar component to many plants in Tennessee, was cut through solid rock to carry water to a powerhouse and a 100-kilowatt generator. The dynamo was driven by a “grist mill type waterwheel.” The powerhouse itself was “one of the most unusual features of the project. It was of frame construction and was built upon hewn oak timers that were laid across the top of the cut….The building was ‘split level’ with one section of the floor about 3 feet higher than the rest.” At first, the demand for electricity was not as great as had been anticipated? the hydroelectric plant was supplemented by a steam-powered plant in Winchester, and the entire load was “used almost entirely for street lights.””

So the next time you plug in your phone to charge, or turn on a light, think about where your power is coming from.  Is it coming from up the river, gently down the stream, across the raging rapids? Thank hydroelectric power if that’s the case and we will see you next time.

This post is part of an  ongoing series  featuring records from the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 – 2017 ( National Archives ID 20812721 ), a series within Record Group 79: Records of the National Park Service.

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Saturday, April 13, 2024 2:31 am (Paris)

At least three dead after explosion at Italian hydroelectric plant near Bologna

Four people remain missing in the incident at the Bargi plant located on Lake Suvian. Search efforts were proceeding with care due to the risk of additional collapsing.

Le Monde with AP

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An explosion Tuesday, April 9 at a decades-old hydroelectric plant in northern Italy killed at least three workers and injured five others, a regional fire chief said. At least four other people were missing.

The explosion at power company Enel's Bergi plant south of Bologna during maintenance work collapsed part of the nine-story underground structure, provoked a fire and caused flooding at depths of up to 60 meters, regional fire chief Francesco Notaro told SKY TG24.

Search efforts were proceeding with care due to the risk of additional collapsing. Divers were aiding the search, which was expected to go through the night. Video provided by firefighters showed smoke rising from underground at the lakeside power plant.

"This is a historic power plant for us," Marco Masinara, the mayor of the nearby town of Camugnano, told SKY. "It has been managed by Enel for 50 years, providing jobs for many families. Until today, nothing ever happened. Today, a drama occurred. Our world collapsed." He said three of the hospitalized were in serious condition, while the other two suffered lesser injuries.

The artificial Suviana Lake was formed by the construction of a dam from 1928-32 and located in a regional park at an altitude of 500 meters some 70 kilometers southwest of Bologna.

Enel Green Power said in a statement that there was no damage to the dam. CEO Salvatore Bernabei traveled to the site to follow developments. The company expressed condolences to the victims and their families.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was following the "terrible" news and expressed solidarity with the victims and their families.

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