Bath County Pumped Storage Power Plant

USA / West Virginia / Marlinton /
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Largest pumped storage power plant in the world.
6x 462 Megawatts, 2,772MW total
www.dom.com/about/stations/hydro/bath-county-pumped-sto...
The station consists of two reservoirs separated by about 1,260 feet in elevation.
Bath County Station is jointly owned by Dominion Generation (60%) and the Allegheny Power System (40%), and managed by Dominion. It went into operation in 1985
Water is released from the upper reservoir during periods of high demand and is used to generate electricity. What makes this different from other hydroelectric dams is that during times of low demand, power is taken from coal, nuclear, and other power plants and is used to pump water from the lower to the upper reservoir. Although this plant uses more power than it generates, it allows these other plants to operate at close to peak efficiency for an overall cost savings.
When generating power, the water flow can be as much as 13.5 million gallons per minute. When storing power, the flow can be as much as 12.7 million gallons per minute. During operation, the water level fluctuates by over 105 feet in the 265-acre upper reservoir and 60 feet feet in the 555-acre lower reservoir.
Maximum Pumping Power (per unit): 642,800 horsepower (479,300 kilowatts)
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   38°12'32"N   79°48'0"W
This article was last modified 4 years ago