History
Construction of Glendo Dam and Power Plant began in 1954 and was completed in 1958. The plant had an original installed capacity of 24,000 kilowatts and was uprated between 1980-84 to its present installed capacity of 38,000 kilowatts by replacing turbines and windings.
The Glendo Unit is a multi-purpose project. The unit furnishes a maximum of 40,000 acre-feet of water annually from Glendo Reservoir for irrigation in Wyoming and Nebraska. Glendo and Fremont Canyon Power plants supply electrical power to Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska. The unit provides irrigation, power generation, flood control, fish and wildlife enhancement, recreation, sediment retention, and pollution abatement. It also improves the quality of municipal and industrial water supply in the North Platte River Valley between Gray Reef Dam and Glendo Reservoir.
The Glendo Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Project was authorized by the Flood Control Act of December 22, 1944, Public Law 534, which approved the general plan set forth in Senate Document 191, as revised and coordinated by Senate Document 247, 78th Congress, 2d Session. The project was reauthorized by Public Law 503, 83d Congress, on July 16, 1954.
Plan
Addition of Glendo Unit power generation facilities increases available power in the North Platte River Basin by about 500 million kilowatt-hours annually. This increase comes principally from the Glendo and Fremont Canyon Power plants, however, some of the gain is due to the conversion of the Alcova Power Plant from seasonal to year-round operation made possible by the regulation afforded by Glendo Reservoir. Glendo Dam is a zoned earthfill structure on the North Platte River. The embankment 190 feet high and 2,096 feet long along the crest. An uncontrolled concrete spillway 45 feet wide is located about 450 feet north of the right abutment of the dam. The Glendo Powerplant is joined to the Glendo Reservoir by a diversion tunnel 21 feet in diameter and 2,100 feet long. Glendo Power Plant is operated on a seasonal basis during the release of irrigation flows to satisfy downstream demands on the North Platte River in Wyoming and Nebraska Construction of Glendo Dam and Power Plant began in 1954 and was completed in 1958. The plant had an original installed capacity of 24,000 kilowatts and was uprated between 1980-84 to its present installed capacity of 38,000 kilowatts by replacing turbines and windings. Design of the replacement CO2 fire suppression system for the two generating units was completed in FY 2002. The contract was awarded in early FY 2003 and will be completed in FY 2005. A replacement wicket gate greasing system was designed in FY 2004 and the new system will be installed in FY 2005. In 1993, a low-flow bypass at Glendo Dam was made operational to restore year-round flows to 22 miles of downstream river. Main power transformer KY1A was replaced in 1998.
