The Development of Hydroelectricity After 1900 [Historical]

The development of hydroelectricity, which started in the late 19th century [1] , greatly expanded in the early 20th century to provide high-power long-distance electricity transmission. In 1907, the run-of-the-river Croton Hydroelectric Plant in Michigan, USA, entered service. Two turbine-driven Westinghouse generators, each rated at 3,750 kVA, 7.5 kV, and 60 Hz, fed step-up transformers to power the Croton-Grand Rapids 80-km line working at a record voltage of 100 kV, which was increased to 110 kV in 1909. This system opened the way to very high-voltage and consistently very long power transmission [2] . In the same year (1907), a hydroelectric power station rated at 22 MW was put into service at the Svelgfoss Waterfall on the Tinnelv River, Norway. It was the second largest in the world, after the Niagara Power Station.