Alcoa Intalco Aluminum Smelter

USA / Washington / Birch Bay / Mountain View Rd., 4050
 industrial area, aluminium smelter
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This aluminum smelter near Ferndale is the nation's largest aluminum smelter, and is the Northwest's largest single consumer of electricity. The plant covers 300 acres and employs 1,150 people. During California's energy crisis of 2000/2001, the facility was paid not to operate (not willingly), so that the energy it normally consumed could be sold to California. To its credit, it continued to pay its employees during the shutdown.

Until recently, Alcoa operated only one of the three potlines in the plant, due to the high cost of electricity. A second line just reopened in Feb 2007.
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Coordinates:   48°50'40"N   122°42'40"W
This article was last modified 13 years ago