Notes from the Consultant's Jungle

One hundred and twenty one years ago, on June 3rd, 1889, the world experienced its first long distance transmission of electrical power.

The picture shown here is of the hydro electric generating station at Willamette Falls near Portland Oregon.  This plant delivered power to 55 street lights over 14 miles away, in Portland, and heralded a new era of technology and innovation.

Elsewhere in this blog, we’ve written about “The War of the Currents,” in which the battle between DC and AC power distribution was fought by Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse.¬† The Willamette Falls plant generated DC power, which very soon capitulated to the advantages of AC power transmission, which is done at a much higher efficiency.

The use of hydro energy to generate electricity was a welcomed development over the coal-fired steam plants that were emerging in the eastern part of the country at this time.  Over the ensuing century, hydro plants would become larger and larger, transmitting electrical power further and further.  Today, hydro power plants are an important contributor to the electrical capacity of nations all over the globe.