place

Holtwood Dam

Buildings and structures in Lancaster County, PennsylvaniaBuildings and structures in York County, PennsylvaniaDams completed in 1910Dams in PennsylvaniaDams on the Susquehanna River
Dams with fish laddersEnergy infrastructure completed in 1910Hydroelectric power plants in PennsylvaniaUnited States power company dams
Holtwood Dam on the Susquehanna River
Holtwood Dam on the Susquehanna River

Holtwood Dam (also Holtwood Hydroelectric Dam, Holtwood Hydroelectric Plant, McCalls Ferry Dam) is the oldest of three major dams built across the lower Susquehanna River, and the middle location of the three. It was constructed as the McCalls Ferry Dam between 1905 and 1910 by the Pennsylvania Water & Power (PW&P) Company. The dam was renamed Holtwood in honor of two company executives. PW&P merged with Pennsylvania Power & Light (PPL) in 1955. In 2015 Talen Energy took over PPL's generation and immediately sold the Holtwood plant to Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners to comply with federal antitrust requirements.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Holtwood Dam (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Holtwood Dam
River Road, Lower Chanceford Township

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Holtwood DamContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 39.826666666667 ° E -76.336111111111 °
placeShow on map

Address

River Road

River Road
Lower Chanceford Township
Pennsylvania, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Holtwood Dam on the Susquehanna River
Holtwood Dam on the Susquehanna River
Share experience

Nearby Places

Muddy Run Pumped Storage Facility
Muddy Run Pumped Storage Facility

Muddy Run Pumped Storage Facility is a pumped-storage hydroelectric generation facility in Drumore Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Constructed by the Philadelphia Electric Company and completed in 1968, Muddy Run was the largest pumped-storage facility in the world. Muddy Run has a capacity of 1,071 megawatts. The facility is operated by the Susquehanna Electric Company, a subsidiary of Constellation Energy. The facility's upper reservoir is the 1,000-acre (400 ha) Muddy Run Reservoir, with a full pool elevation of over 500 feet (150 m), and a usable storage capacity of 1,466 million cubic feet (33,700 acre⋅ft; 41.5 hm3). Muddy Run Reservoir was created by damming Muddy Run with a 4,800 feet (1,500 m) long, 250 feet (76 m) high, rock-filled dam. The lower reservoir is the Conowingo Reservoir, created in the Susquehanna River by the Conowingo Dam, with a normal pool elevation of 109 feet (33 m). The power house uses excess grid capacity during off peak hours to pump water from the Conowingo Reservoir into the upper reservoir through four 25-foot (7.6 m) diameter, 343-foot (105 m) vertical shafts. During peak power demand periods, the water is allowed to flow back from the lake through the shafts to the eight turbines causing the pumps to act as generators. The Muddy Run electrical machinery was designed by the noted engineer Eugene C. Whitney of Westinghouse Electric Company, who designed the machinery for the Grand Coulee Dam #3 powerhouse. Whitney "was present when the machines were first to be started. The operator was reluctant to take the first step. Gene said, 'Call your boss.' The boss said, 'If Gene says to start the machines, start them.' So they did, and water rose from the lower Susquehanna River to the upper reservoir, 400 feet above". The upper reservoir extends into Martic Township. The area around the upper reservoir is operated as a park, complementing the nearby Susquehannock State Park. Susquehannock State Park has an overlook trail with a good view of the Muddy Run facility.