GREEN MOUNTAIN POWERPLANT
Green Mountain Dam and Powerplant
| Plant Contact: | Ralph Beall |
| Telephone Numbers: | Phone: (970) 724-3538 Fax: (970) 724-0983 |
| E-Mail Address: | rbeall@gp.usbr.gov |
| Reclamation Region: | Great Plains |
| NERC Region: | Western Electricity Coordinating Council, Rocky Mountain Power Area |
| PMA Service Area: | Western Area Power Administration, Rocky Mountain Region |
| Project Authorization: | The President approved the Secretary of the Interior's finding of feasibility on December 21, 1937. |
| Project Purposes: | The Colorado-Big Thompson Project is one of the largest and most complex natural resource developments undertaken by Reclamation. It consists of over 100 structures integrated into a transmountain water diversion system through which multiple benefits are provided to the people. The project spreads over approximately 250 miles in the State of Colorado. It stores, regulates, and diverts water from the Colorado River on the western slope of the Continental Divide to the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. It provides supplemental water for irrigation of about 720,000 acres of land, municipal and industrial use, hydroelectric power, and water-oriented recreation opportunities. |
| Plant Purpose: | Provides project water storage and maintains minimum water flows in the Blue River. |
| Plant Facts: | This dam provides replacement storage for water diverted by the project to the eastern slope. The dam is an earthfill structure, 309 feet high, with a crest length of 1,150 feet and volume of 4,360,211 cubic yards. The powerplant has two units with a total installed generating capacity of 26,000 kilowatts. |
| Plant History: | The water and power control center for Colorado-Big Thompson Project's reservoirs, powerplants, and transmission lines in Wyoming, Colorado, and western Nebraska is at the project headquarters in Loveland, Colorado. This Western Division of the Missouri River Basin is an interconnected system of 15 Reclamation powerplants. |
| Present Activities: | Ring seal gate removal and restoration of both gates; Unit 1 overhaul and penstock spot patchwork. |
| Future Planned Activities: | None |
| Special Issues: | Major overhaul on unit 2 in fiscal year 1994. Major switchyard and control room boards are in the final stages of modification. |
| River: | Blue River |
| Plant Type: | Conventional |
| Powerhouse Type: | Above Ground |
| Turbine Type: | Francis |
| Original Nameplate Capacity: | 21,600 kW |
| Installed Capacity: | 26,000 kW |
| Year of Initial Operation: | 1943 |
| Age: | 62 years |
| Net Generation: (FY 2005) |
21,214,000 kWh |
| Rated Head: | 210 feet |
| Plant Factor: (FY 2005) |
9.61 percent |
| Remotely Operated: | Yes |
| Production Mode: | Intermediate |
Click here for graphs and charts of Green Mountain Powerplant performance.
Click here for information on the Green Mountain Dam.
Click here for information on the Colorado-Big Thompson Project.
Revised December 4, 2007 Hydropower Site Map Help