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Explore the Verdi hydroelectric plant’s place in northern Nevada’s history

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Explore the Verdi hydroelectric plant’s place in northern Nevada’s history

By Truckee Meadows Water Authority

For more than a century, hydropower has helped keep the lights on for homes and industry in the northern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. Initially established to provide electricity for the Comstock Lode mines in Virginia City, the three Truckee River hydroelectric plants continue to produce sustainable energy while offsetting a large portion of the carbon footprint of the utility that runs them — Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA). Although followed decades later by the far larger Hoover Dam and hydroelectric project on the Colorado River, it was these three plants in northern Nevada that blazed the trail for hydroelectric energy production in the state.

Among these three hydro plants, and the crown jewel of the system, is the Verdi Hydroelectric Power Plant, which was an inductee into the 2023 Hydro Hall of Fame at HYDROVISION International. Lignum Vitae North America was the sponsor for the 2023 Hydro Hall of Fame. Located a little more than 1 mile from the California/Nevada border, Verdi is a run-of-river facility that was built in 1911 and provides a generating capacity of 2.3 MW.

This article provides a glimpse into the history of this facility, which is still reliably generating power today.

Hydro Hall of Fame

Verdi’s background

Like all hydropower facilities, the Verdi plant’s value is tied to the reliability of the river that drives it. Fortunately, the plant benefits from the consistent, seasonal flows of the Truckee River, which is the only outflow of Lake Tahoe — located on the alpine border of Nevada and California in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The river also provides drinking water for residents and businesses in the cities of Reno and Sparks, supplies irrigation water to farms downstream, offers varied recreational opportunities, and serves as a vital ecosystem for fish and wildlife.

TMWA is the primary water utility in the Reno-Sparks area. It operates a suite of three hydroelectric power plants: Verdi, Fleish and Washoe. A fourth plant, Farad, was irreparably damaged in a 1997 flood.

When the hydro plants were constructed in the early 1900s to supply electricity to Virginia City, the system delivering the energy was Nevada’s first electrical distribution grid. It was also one of the first systems designed by iconic inventor Thomas Edison.

With mining being Nevada’s primary industry at the turn of the 20th century, hydroelectric power was critical to serve the outpost communities in the state and became an important driver in early economic development. While there are always reasons to search for more cost-effective energy, hydroelectric plants on the Truckee River offered an attractive alternative to Virginia City’s expensive dependence on soot-producing coal and wood — which were not readily available in the state’s high-desert landscape. By the turn of the century, Comstock Lode mining tunnels had become so deep, they required consistent pumping to remove groundwater. Heat also plagued the mines; the deeper they went, the hotter they became. Using coal and wood for energy only added to the problem, with their soot and heat. So, even though the Truckee River was 40 miles away, hydropower seemed to be increasingly viable.

As a result of this demand, the first plant on the Truckee River was built at Farad in 1899; it had two turbines. In order moving downstream from Farad, the 2.5 MW Fleish plant was built in 1911, 1.9 MW Washoe Plant in 1904 and Verdi Plant in 1911.

Tours of the Verdi hydro plant are sought after when they are offered in July and August.

Now more than 100 years old, these run-of-river plants still play an important part in TMWA’s operations. Collectively, the hydroelectric plants provide an average of 6.7 MW of power, enough to supply about 3,500 households.

Run-of-river plants

The hydroelectric power generated by the TMWA system is not dependent on the release of stored water from a dam. Rather, it uses a run-of-river configuration in which water is diverted and channeled through flumes to drive turbine-generator units. The same amount of water that flows into the plants is returned to the river unchanged.

“It’s a non-consumptive use of the water — almost every drop that is diverted is returned to the river, nothing added, nothing taken away,” said Andy Gebhardt, TMWA’s director of distribution maintenance and generation.

Sharing the Verdi plant with the public

Although TMWA’s hydro team is rigorous in its maintenance and operation of all three plants in the system, the Verdi plant is the flagship facility and the focus of considerable organizational pride. The plant and powerhouse were built in 1911 by the Truckee River General Electric Company and became fully operational by 1912. The Verdi facility produces enough energy to power about 1,500 homes annually.

Technological upgrades over the years have made management of the plant more efficient, but the core process of green energy generation has remained the same for more than a century. So, for over 100 years, the plant and its small original building, housing a mammoth turbine, has been pulling water from the Truckee River and churning it into energy.

The Verdi powerhouse contains a single turbine-generator unit that has operated for more than 100 years.

The Verdi plant sits on a beautiful, easily accessible property next to the river, offering an ideal location for public tours and company picnics. The powerhouse has been meticulously maintained and looks the same as when it was built. The public is offered the opportunity to tour the plant in August and September each year. These tours are always well-attended, usually with waiting lists. This year, five sessions will be offered for those who want to take a step back in time and see how old technology can be relevant today.

The Verdi powerhouse building has been meticulously unchanged and looks the same as when it was built.

Benefits of hydroelectric power in Nevada

In addition to offsetting energy costs, hydropower is great renewable energy.

“As long as there’s water in the Truckee River, we operate the facilities at full load 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whether the sun is shining, or the wind is blowing,” said Gebhardt. “Other renewables require Mother Nature to cooperate. We just need river flows — and that is a great benefit.

“Now, to be clear, there are dry years and maintenance issues that keep the plants from running at full capacity all the time. But the fact remains, TMWA’s hydroelectric plants are one of the crown jewels in Northern Nevada’s green-energy portfolio. Hydro power has also been a significant help in offsetting costs over the years, helping to keep rates lower for our customers.”

Generation records broken: CO2 eliminated

From July 2017 through June 2018, TMWA’s hydroelectric plants generated an all-time high of $3.7 million in revenue due to high river flows. The total kilowatt-hours produced by the three plants reached 52,367,487, breaking the former record set in 2012/2013 by more than 200,000 KWh. The revenue produced from the hydro power sold to NV Energy was $3,757,043.39. With the record-breaking water year in the Sierra this last winter, hopes are high to break the record again.

The contribution TMWA’s hydroelectric plants make to the quality of life in the Truckee Meadows area is not entirely financial. When all three plants run at capacity, more than 90,500 pounds of CO2 emissions are eliminated daily from the atmosphere. In one year, this is roughly 15,000 metrics tons of CO2 that would be released if TMWA relied exclusively on fossil fuel-based power generation.

“These plants have always been important to this region,” said Gebhardt. “In the early 1900s, the plants provided power to Virginia City. Now hydroelectric helps us keep TMWA’s operational costs very low in the delivery of water to over 440,000 residents in our service area. They are as relevant today as they have always been.”

With over a century of history and productivity in the books, it is with great pleasure that TMWA’s Hydroelectric Power Generation team received the Hydro Hall of Fame recognition. “We hope it will remind and inspire a new generation of hydro professionals who will become caretakers of our proud, clean-energy heritage,” said Gebhardt.

Editor’s Note: The 2024 inductees into the Hydro Hall of Fame will be announced July 17 at HYDROVISION International in Denver, Colo., U.S., during the opening keynote session.