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2018 Class of the Hydro Hall of Fame inducted during HydroVision International

The 23rd Class of the Hydro Hall of Fame Class was inducted on June 26, during the opening keynote session of HydroVision International 2018 being held in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
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The 23rd Class of the Hydro Hall of Fame was inducted on June 26, during the opening keynote session of HydroVision International 2018 being held in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.

The Hydro Hall of Fame recognizes extraordinary achievement, with an emphasis on long-lasting facilities, and since 1995 has inducted 48 legacy hydropower plants.

With well over 100 plants worldwide that qualified for induction this year, five plants were added in 2018. They are:

24.6-MW Blewett Falls hydroelectric development

The 24.6-MW Blewett Falls development is on the Pee Dee River between Anson and Richmond counties in south-central North Carolina. Duke Energy’s Blewett Falls Hydro Station has been providing clean, renewable energy since 1912.

The station still operates the original six horizontal generating units with a quad-runner turbine arrangement.

21.6-MW Byllesby hydroelectric plant

American Electric Power’s (AEP) 21.6-MW Byllesby plant is on the New River in southwestern Virginia, in the town of Byllesby. The plant, named for H.M. Byllesby, has four units and has been in operation since 1912. When commissioned, it supplied some of the first electric power to the area, to about 1,500 customers in its first year of operation.

This year, AEP partnered with Greensmith Energy to install a 4-MW energy storage system to integrate with the plant, which appears to be the first system of its kind to provide regulation services to the PJM market.

17.6-MW Miljacka hydroelectric power plant

The 17.6-MW Miljacka plant, located in Sibenik-Knin County, Dalmatia, Croatia, on the Krka River, is owned and operated by Hrvatska elektoprivreda (HEP). The facility is one of the largest hydropower plants on the river and has been in constant operation since 1906.

Miljacka is located in the beautiful Krka National Park, famous for numerous waterfalls on the Krka River.

In its operation, Miljacka complies with environmental protection laws, required by the Krka National Park. A noteworthy feature of the hydropower plant’s location is the cave Miljacka 2, located about 100 m downstream from the Miljacka waterfall.

108.8-MW Narrows hydropower plant

The 108.8-MW Narrows plant in Davidson, Stanly and Montgomery counties in North Carolina, on the Yadkin River is operated by Cube Hydro.

Construction on Narrows Dam was completed in 1917, and at that time, the 201-foot-high dam was the world’s highest overflow-type dam. It was also the largest dam in the U.S. until Hoover Dam took the title in 1934.

These facts, coupled with its intriguing history, led to the induction of the Narrows Dam to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The 19,396-square-foot powerhouse was completed shortly after Narrows Dam and began generating power in July 1917.

66-MW Upper Bonnington generating station

The 66-MW Upper Bonnington station at Bonnington Falls, British Columbia, Canada, on the Kootenay River, is owned and operated by FortisBC.

Upper Bonnington is one of the four hydro projects FortisBC owns and operates on the Kootenay River. The location is just outside of Nelson, B.C., at the tip of the Columbia River Basin, which drains into Washington State.

West Kootenay Power, now FortisBC, built the original powerhouse more than 110 years ago with two units to support the region’s booming mining industry. They added two more units in 1916 and two more in 1939. All of these units continue to operate today.