Skip to main content

Power

Society: IEEEMain Category: ElectricSub Category: AstronomyEra: 1890-1899DateCreated: 1897LotaCountry: ChileWebsite: http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Milestones:Chivilingo_Hydroelectric_Plant,_1897Creator: Raby, William E.
Studies on the feasibility of building a hydro plant in the site were initiated in 1893. The increasing need for power that was cheaper and easily adapted to mine underground use drove the Lota coal mine company to develop a study of alternatives for this purpose. Engineer William E. Raby traveled to the United States and Europe to assess the use of electricity generation and transmission. The availability of the Chivilingo hydro resources arose as a better alternative to a steam plant.
YearAdded:
2001
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikicommons/B.diaz.cImage Caption: The Chivilingo Hydroelectric Power Plant was the first in Chile and only the second in South America. Era_date_from: 1897
Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant
Society: IEEEMain Category: ElectricalSub Category: Power GenerationEra: 1890-1899DateCreated: 1891Uncompahgre National ForestOphirState: COZip: 81435Country: USAWebsite: http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Milestones:Ames_Hydroelectric_Generating_Plant,_1891

"Electricity produced here in the spring of 1891 was transmitted 2.6 miles over rugged and at times inaccessible terrain to provide power for operating the motor-driven mill at the Gold King Mine. This pioneering demonstration of the practical value of transmitting electrical power was a significant precedent in the United States for much larger plants at Niagara Falls (in 1895) and elsewhere. Electricity at Ames was generated at 3000 volts, 133 Hertz, single-phase AC, by a 100-hp Westinghouse alternator."

YearAdded:
1988
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Ray Wood (CC BY-SA 3.0) Image Caption: The Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant, and behind it the trees of the Uncompahgre National ForestEra_date_from: 1891
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Minerals Extraction & RefiningEra: 1960-1969DateCreated: 1962509 Northwest 60th StreetWest MineralState: KSZip: 66782Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/minerals-extraction-and-refining/-127-big-brutus-mine-shovel-%281962%29Creator: Bucyrus Erie Company
When built in 1962, this shovel was the second largest in the world. It was used for the removal of overburden in the surface mining of thin coal seams. In its lifetime, it recovered nine million tons of bituminous coal from depths of 20 to 50 feet for local electric power generation. Standing 160-feet high, weighing 5,500 tons, and moving at speeds up to two-tenths of a mile per hour, the machine stripped about a square mile each year.
YearAdded:
1987
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/KellyK (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: This picture of the Big Brutus Mine Shovel does not fully capture its immensity. To create a comparison, the average person would be slightly shorter than the treads, near the bottom.Era_date_from: 1962
Subscribe to Power

Innovations

When built in 1962, this shovel was the second largest in the world. It was used for the removal of overburden in the surface mining of thin coal seams. In its lifetime, it recovered nine million tons of bituminous coal from depths of 20 to 50 feet for local electric power generation. Standing 160-… Read More
Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant

"Electricity produced here in the spring of 1891 was transmitted 2.6 miles over rugged and at times inaccessible terrain to provide power for operating the motor-driven mill at the Gold King Mine. This pioneering demonstration of the practical value of transmitting electrical power…

Read More
Studies on the feasibility of building a hydro plant in the site were initiated in 1893. The increasing need for power that was cheaper and easily adapted to mine underground use drove the Lota coal mine company to develop a study of alternatives for this purpose. Engineer William E. Raby traveled… Read More

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.