Turning Water into Electricity
Turning Water into Electricity – Calm lakes surrounded by colorful forest only visible from above. These photos were taken mid September, just as the colors were starting to turn.
A beautiful lake surrounded by forest here at Victoria Dam in Michigan.
Side note: looks like a few bloggers including my site, are having issues with comments and the like button being blocked. So incase you are reading this and the comment sectioned is closed, word press is at fault for this. I have not turned them off. Hopefully it can be fixed, I will let you know if I find anything out about this situation. ๐
At Victoria, water from the diversion dam flows through the intake structure at the dam into wood-stave pipeline and steel penstock to the turbines. The force of the water passing through the blades of the 65-inch diameter cast steel wheels drives the turbine and generators to produce electricity.
The Victoria units operate at 300 rpm with a maximum operating head of 215 feet. (Headโthe difference in water elevation at the dam and the tailrace or discharge elevation.) With maximum head, a pressure of 93 pounds per square inch (psi) exists at the turbine water wheels.
After the water passes through the turbines, it is discharged into the west branch of the Ontonagon River, then into the main Ontonagon River, and finally into Lake Superior at the Village of Ontonagon.
Rainfall and melting snow throughout the 801-square-mile watershed upstream of the Victoria eventually end up as water at Victoria Dam. Some of this water is held in storage at UPPCOโs Bond Falls Reservoir, Bergland Dam, or Cisco Dam, and flows as river-run directly to Victoria. (UPPCO refers to the Upper Peninsula Power Company.)
At Victoria, this water is used for power generation. However, if the river-run exceeds the storage capacity of the Victoria Dam and the 850 cubic feet per second utilized by the turbines while operating at a full load, it is necessary to spill the excess water through the radial spill gates. Normally the greatest amount of water is spilled during the spring snow-melt or runoff.
Because water can be stored upstream of Victoria for release and use during dry periods, UPPCO is able to operate the power station about 80 percent of the time during the average year. The least amount of generation occurs during July and August when the river-runs are sometimes down to 150 cubic feet per second.
Turning Water into Electricity
30 Replies to “Turning Water into Electricity”
I have been having a lot of trouble with WP as of late..commenting etc. In a twist of irony, I usually have issues trying to comment on your site, but now that is working fine and everyone else is broken. Driving me nuts ha. Thanks for the background on this beautiful lake.
Yes, WordPress had turned off comments and likes on many sites last week. Someone told me it was all off. But then it was all back on. Always something ๐
I love hearing about dams. Thx!
You are very welcome ๐
Thankfully the problem is resolved today – sigh. I’ll go back and comment on what I couldn’t yesterday, though I was able to read those posts. The water is so still that it looks like glass and the shoreline of vibrant trees is exquisite Sandra.
Beautiful, as is all of your work, Sandra.
Thank you very much Mary, ๐
Thanks Sandra. Very informative and excellent photography. Looks like a great place to visit.
Thank you, it is a beautiful place. Especially in the fall. Have a wonderful evening.
Beautiful!
Thank you very much ๐
Excellent and informative. The photographs are wonderful.
Thank you very much Wally.
Beautiful aerial photographs, I would like so much to fly like a bird, old human dream. I encounter the problem of the comment impossible to send on many sites. By reloading the page, it works; here too since my comment went through, eventually.
I often dreamt that I could fly in my younger years. They were amazing dreams. ๐
The dam is so interesting, but the beauty of the shots is in the lake and the turning trees surrounding it. Your last photo should be on the cover of a guidebook for the area!
Thank you Kellye, it is a beautiful place and still used today to generate electricity. A fun place to visit.
Nice beginnings of Fall colors. The dam almost fits into the environment seamlessly.
Thank you Brad ๐
WOW! That’s a lot of facts. I just thought it was pretty. ๐คฃ๐๐
I know, sometimes I get carried away with my research. ๐ ๐
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Thank you very much Francine ๐
Impressive pictures
Kind regards
Thanks for the remark about the like button. I got similar remarks… As you say, it’s a WordPress problem. By refreshing the page, most of the time the like button re-appears. I see no problems on your site at this moment Sandra.
Using the potential energie of water stored in mountain ranges, is one of the cleanest ways of producing electricity. Thanks for sharing there beautiful pictures of Victoria Dam.
Thank you for letting me know, someone else told me it wasn’t working last night. So I have not.looked to see if it is working yet, but must be being you were able to comment. Thank you Rudi.
splendid photography
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Thank you very much ๐ โบ๏ธ
Energy exists in different forms. The calm waters hold a lot of energy!
Yes they do, wonderful engineering.