Glen Canyon Dam ~ Page, Arizona
Posted by: 
brwhiz
N 36° 56.180 W 111° 29.083
12S E 456836 N 4087919
The eight massive generators in the powerhouse at Glen Canyon Dam create a tremendous amount of electrical energy. Power was being generated even before construction of the dam was complete.
Waymark Code: WMFQF0
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 11/18/2012
Views: 23
From glencanyon.net:
The maximum generation of Glen Canyon Dam is 1,356 MW. The Bureau of Reclamation controls the flow of water through the dam, and therefore the electrical output of the generators. Under the Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992, an Environmental Impact Statement process was conducted that had participation of all interested parties--water, power, environmental, game and fish, Native American, etc. Under the Final Record of Decision of the EIS, a federal advisory committee was established - the Glen Canyon Adaptive Management Work Group. The Work Group makes recommendations to the Bureau on flows. It is this Work Group that sets the dispatch rules for Glen Canyon, following the requirements set out in the EIS Record of Decision. Those requirements address the following range of needs: water (irrigation & Central Arizona Project), power, beach building, critical wildlife habitat, endangered species, fish and game, Native American cultural sites, etc. The dispatch rules do allow for Glen Canyon generation to respond somewhat to varying power needs, but the response is limited within a generation bandwidth specified by the Work Group. The Work Group sets maximum ramp rates within an hour and over certain number of hours.Under current regulation the dam now generates between 500 and 900 MW on average during a year (depending on the snowpack upstream).