PALISADES POWERPLANT
Palisades Dam
Palisades Powerplant
| Plant Contact: | Larry Heib, O&M Technical Services Manager, SRAO East |
| Telephone Numbers: | Phone: (208) 378-0461 ext. 20 Fax: (208) 678-4321 |
| E-Mail Address: | lheib@pn.usbr.gov |
| Reclamation Region: | Pacific Northwest |
| NERC Region: | Western Electricity Coordinating Council, Northwest Power Pool Area |
| PMA Service Area: | Bonneville Power Administration |
| Project Authorization: | The Secretary of the Interior initially authorized the Palisades Project on December 9, 1941, under the provisions of Section 9 of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (53 Stat. 1187). The Congress reauthorized the Palisades Project on September 30, 1950 (Public Law 864, 81st Congress), in accordance with a supplemental report approved by the Secretary of the Interior in 1949. |
| Project Purposes: | The Palisades Project is a multiple-purpose development involving irrigation, power, flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife conservation. Palisades Dam is on the South Fork of the Snake River at Calamity Point in eastern Idaho about 18 miles west of the Idaho-Wyoming boundary. The project provides a supplemental water supply to about 670,000 acres of irrigated land in the Minidoka and Michaud Flats Projects. The 176,564-kilowatt hydroelectric powerplant furnishes energy needed in the upper valley to serve irrigation pumping units, municipalities, rural cooperatives, and other power users. The project, in addition to providing needed holdover storage, helps control floods, develops a substantial block of power, and permits the annual storage of about 135,000 acre-feet of water saved by shutting off canals in the upper valley during the winter. This water is stored to the credit of and delivered to the water users who make the savings possible. |
| Plant Facts: | Palisades Dam is a large zoned earthfill structure 270 feet high, has a crest length of 2,100 feet, and contains 13,571,000 cubic yards of material. At the time of construction, this was the largest volume of material placed in a dam by Reclamation. The powerplant and outlet works are fed by separate 26-foot diameter tunnels through the left abutment. The Palisades Powerplant has four generators, and an original hydraulic capacity of 8,000 cubic feet per second. The spillway is a 28-foot diameter tunnel through the left abutment, with a capacity of 48,500 cubic feet per second. The powerplant serves large irrigation pumping power requirements on and near the Minidoka Project in Southern Idaho. Energy in excess of project uses is marketed by BPA. Palisades Powerplant was transferred to the Minidoka Project Office (now Snake River Area Office - East) for operations and maintenance soon after construction. |
| Plant Purpose: | Palisades Powerplant serves large irrigation pumping power requirements on and near the Minidoka Project in southern Idaho. |
| Plant History: | Palisades Powerplant was completed in 1957, with the last unit placed on line in 1958. From the start, the generators produced copious quantities of ozone, due to corona discharge, which deteriorated all metal parts and the winding. The original windings lasted less than 10 years. All the generators were rewound in the 1960's, using an epoxy-mica insulating system, instead of the original asphalt-mica insulating system. Corona was a problem, and ozone deterioration continued to the point that windings were seriously deteriorated by the late 1980's. Generators were rewound again in 1991-1995, increasing unit capacity to 44 MW. Station service switchgear was replaced in 2001; and penstock flow meters were installed in 2002. |
| Present Activities: | Oil filled 115 kV switchyard circuit breakers were replaced with SF6 breakers in 2003, 12.5/115 kV transformer was replaced in 2003, and unit protective relays were replaced in 2002-2003. Also in 2003, line relays and Units 2 and 3 thrust bearing oil coolers were replaced and the unit vibration monitoring system was installed. In addition numerous security enhancements were completed in 2003. Palisades has been operating under drought conditions since 2001 affecting net generation. |
| Future Planned Activities: | Complete replacement of unit trust bearing oil coolers in 2004, replace iso phase bus system on Units 1 and 3 in 2004, and replace Powerplant roof in 2004-2005. |
| Special Issues: | None |
| River: | South Fork Snake River |
| Plant Type: | Conventional |
| Powerhouse Type: | Above Ground |
| Turbine Type: | Francis |
| Original Nameplate Capacity: | 114,000 kW |
| Installed Capacity: | 176,564 kW |
| Year of Initial Operation: | 1957 |
| Age: | 48 years |
| Net Generation: (FY 2005) |
517,411,940 kWh |
| Rated Head: | 190 feet |
| Plant Factor: (FY 2005) |
33.62 percent |
| Remotely Operated: | Yes |
| Production Mode: | Intermediate |
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Revised December 27, 2005 Hydropower Site Map Help