HYDROPOWER

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Fly Around Video Clip of Generating Unit

Hydropower Glen Canyon Dam is a 710-foot-high concrete arch dam, and the second highest dam in the United States. The powerplant at Glen Canyon Dam is made up of eight hydroelectric generation stations. The combined generation capability of all eight turbines is 1,320 megawatts. The hydropower resource at Glen Canyon Dam is monitored intensively by the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), the entity that markets Glen Canyon Dam power to power distributors in the western United States. Tracking power generation, power market rates, necessary power purchases, and power revenue provides a mechanism for understanding how changes in Glen Canyon Dam operations affect energy generation and the energy market.

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Updates Ten things you didn't know about hydropower- DOE

INFORMATION Hydropower General Learning Page CREDA Fact Sheet on Hydropower Capacity & Energy handout Overview of the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP) Management Center for Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) Explanation on Why Capacity is Important Importance of Hydropower Capacity Links Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) Colorado River Energy Distribution Association (CREDA) Other Stuff One megawatt is equivalent to the power required to serve about 600 households 8 Generating Units --- Each unit produces/uses 4,000 CFS Critical Level for Hydropower generation--- as Lake Powell approaches minimum power pool 3,490 feet elevation, power capability drops off. The House of Power and Light* WAPA Studies Listing Hydropower facilities along the Colorado River provide more than 4,200 megawatts of electrical generating capacity, helping to meet the power needs of the West and offset the use of fossil fuels. (SOURCE: Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study) At optimum operations, the eight generators at Glen Canyon Dam are capable of producing 1,320 megawatts of power. Water releases from the dam occur at 200-230 feet below the surface of Lake Powell at full pool. Temperature: Year round temperatures of 45 degrees F to 50 degrees F. Since the signing of the final operating criteria in February 1997, powerplant releases do not exceed 25,000 cfs, other than during HFE's or emergency situations, and have most often averaged between 10,000 cfs and 20,000 cfs. USBR: Glen Canyon Dam Facts usbr/amwg/mtgs/13feb20/Attach_04 |CREDA Member Map