Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant
Encyclopedia
Ophir, Colorado
The historic town of Ophir is a Home Rule Municipality located in San Miguel County, Colorado, United States. Ophir was the site of the world's first commercial system to generate and transmit alternating current electricity, the Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant...
, was the world's first commercial system to produce and transmit alternating current
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
(AC) electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
. It is now on the List of IEEE Milestones.
In the summer of 1890, Westinghouse Electric
Westinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...
supplied the station's generator
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
and motor
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
. They were installed in the winter, and from Spring 1891 provided alternating current electricity that was transmitted 2.6 miles (4.2 km) to a motor-driven stamp mill
Stamp mill
A stamp mill is a type of mill machine that crushes material by pounding rather than grinding, either for further processing or for extraction of metallic ores. Breaking material down is a type of unit operation....
at the Gold King Mine. The mill was at the time at risk of shutdown from lack of timber fuel for its existing steam mill. The AC power plant effort was financed by L.L. Nunn.
The generator is driven by a six-foot Pelton wheel
Pelton wheel
The Pelton wheel is an impulse turbine which is among the most efficient types of water turbines. It was invented by Lester Allan Pelton in the 1870s. The Pelton wheel extracts energy from the impulse of moving water, as opposed to its weight like traditional overshot water wheel...
under a 320 feet (97.5 m) head. Its 100 hp Westinghouse alternator
Alternator
An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current.Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field but linear alternators are occasionally used...
was the largest then manufactured, generating electricity at 3000 volt
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
s, 133 Hertz, single-phase AC. Voltmeter
Voltmeter
A voltmeter is an instrument used for measuring electrical potential difference between two points in an electric circuit. Analog voltmeters move a pointer across a scale in proportion to the voltage of the circuit; digital voltmeters give a numerical display of voltage by use of an analog to...
s and ammeter
Ammeter
An ammeter is a measuring instrument used to measure the electric current in a circuit. Electric currents are measured in amperes , hence the name. Instruments used to measure smaller currents, in the milliampere or microampere range, are designated as milliammeters or microammeters...
s were of both the solenoid
Solenoid
A solenoid is a coil wound into a tightly packed helix. In physics, the term solenoid refers to a long, thin loop of wire, often wrapped around a metallic core, which produces a magnetic field when an electric current is passed through it. Solenoids are important because they can create...
and gravity balance types. The transmission line was built from Western Union
Western Union
The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
cross-arms with insulators carrying two bare copper wires. Total wire costs were about US $700, about 1% of the cost estimated for a direct-current line. The entire plant required 15 to 20 attendants for its continuous operation.
The alternating current was proven to be effective as it was transmitted two miles (3 km) at a loss of less than 5%.
The station was built during the "War of Currents
War of Currents
In the "War of Currents" era in the late 1880s, George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison became adversaries due to Edison's promotion of direct current for electric power distribution over alternating current advocated by several European companies and Westinghouse Electric based out of Pittsburgh,...
" between Westinghouse (and Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
) and Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
as to whether alternating current
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
or direct current
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
electric power would prevail, and its success led to adoption of alternating current
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
at much larger plants at Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
(Adams Power Plant in 1895) and its eventual dominance worldwide.
The Ames plant became part of the Nunn’s Telluride Power Company which would later become part of Utah Power and Light
PacifiCorp
PacifiCorp is an electric power company in the northwestern United States.PacifiCorp has three primary subsidiaries:# Pacific Power is a regulated electric utility with service territory throughout Oregon, northern California, and southeastern Washington.# Rocky Mountain Power is a regulated...
.
The 1905 power house is still in service for Western Colorado Power Company, with two Pelton wheels powering a single 1904 General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
generator, with output of 2,400 volts, and 1,082 amperes at a speed of 225 R.P.M.
External links
- History and photos of Ames Hydroelectric Plant, at Historic American Engineering Record