OCR Text |
Show corresponding annual maximum demand is ex- pected to increase from 3,450,000 kilowatts in 1949 to 8,460,000 kilowatts in 1970, representing a growth of about 5 million kilowatts. In June 1949 the installed generating capacity of utility systems in the market area totaled 3.7 million kilowatts, con- sisting of 2.1 million kilowatts in fuel-electric plants and 1.6 million kilowatts in hydroelectric plants. The installed generating facilities of existing hydroelectric projects of the Colorado Basin are well coordinated with electric utility systems serving the market area. However, it may be pointed out that relatively long transmission lines are required to deliver power from these projects to major load centers in southern California, where an important part of the future load of the market area is ex- pected to develop. The extent to which the basin's remaining potential hydroelectric capacity could be economically developed and utilized in serving fu- ture loads in the market area remains largely unde- termined at this time, and thus presents a problem for further study. Based on estimates of future loads and potential hydroelectric power, it may appear that all of the undeveloped hydroelectric capacity of the Colo- rado Basin could be absorbed in the market area by 1970 providing the entire load were to be served without resorting to the installation of additional fuel-electric capacity. However, economic consid- erations and the characteristics of the area load and power supply will undoubtedly preclude the complete development of all potential hydroelec- tric projects in the basin by 1970, and consider- able additional fuel-electric capacity will be re- quired prior to that year. Facilities in Construction and Authorized One Federal project, the Davis Dam and Power Plant on the Colorado River, is under construction by the Bureau of Reclamation and will have an installed capacity of 225,000 kilowatts. The Davis Reservoir will have an active storage capacity of 1.6 million acre-feet. Additional capacity of 9,600 kilowatts is being installed at the existing Drop No. 4 plant on the Ail-American Canal by the Imperial Irrigation District. No new Federal projects have been authorized for construction, but an additional 297,500 kilo- watts of capacity are authorized for the Hoover Dam. Situation at the End of the Present Program After completion of the projects under construc- tion and authorized, there would be seven Federal hydroelectric plants in the basin, providing a total installed capacity of 1,713,500 kilowatts. The 11 non-Federal plants of 2,500 kilowatts or more in- stalled capacity would have a total installation of 119,800 kilowatts. The total active storage ca- pacity in the basin would amount to 32,769,860 acre-feet. Existing Potentialities Investigations by various Federal and State agen- cies indicate that in addition to the hydroelectric power that would be provided at projects under construction and authorized, there are about 80 possible undeveloped sites which could be utilized to provide approximately 5 million kilowatts of in- stalled capacity. The undeveloped active storage capacity in the basin amounts to approximately 56 million acre-feet (table 3). Data for some of the undeveloped power projects are based on investi- gations of a preliminary character so that consid- erable additional study would be required to deter- mine more accurately the details and desirability of certain of the developments. Program To Develop the Potential In reports prepared by the Bureau of Reclama- tion, three projects including nine power plants have been recommended or proposed. The total initial installed capacity contemplated at these projects amounts to 790,800 kilowatts. Power plants included are: Collbran No. 1 and No. 2 of the Collbran Project; Virgin, Bench Lake, and Warner Valley of the Dixie Project; and Bridge Canyon, McDowell, Horseshoe, and Buttes of the Central Arizona Project. Bridge Canyon, with an initial installation of 750,000 kilowatts, is the larg- est of the proposed plants. In addition, the Colo- rado River Storage Project is currently being in- vestigated by the Bureau of Reclamation. This would include the following project units: Bridge- port, Cross Mountain, Crystal, Curecanti, Echo Park, Flaming Gorge, Glen Canyon, Gray Canyon, Martinez, and Split Mountain Reservoirs. The Corps of Engineers has proposed the future installation of hydroelectric power capacity amounting to some 4,500 kilowatts at the author- ized Alamo Reservoir Project. The Corps has 911610-51- -26 371 |