Salina Pumped Storage Project facts for kids

The Salina Pumped Storage Project is a special power plant near Salina, Oklahoma. It can make up to 260-megawatt (350,000 hp) of electricity. This plant is owned and run by the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA). It was built because people needed more electricity, and there weren't many good places left to build new dams on the Grand River.

The first part of the project was finished in 1968. The second part was done in 1971. This power plant uses two lakes. The upper lake is Lake W. R. Holway, which was made on Saline Creek. The lower lake is Lake Hudson, which is on the Grand River. When people don't need much electricity, water is pumped from Lake Hudson up to Lake Holway. When lots of electricity is needed, the water is let back down. It flows through special machines that make power.

How the Plant Works

This power plant uses a clever trick to store energy. Think of it like a giant battery, but it uses water instead of chemicals!

Storing Energy with Water

First, water is pumped from a lower lake (Lake Hudson) up to a higher lake (Lake W. R. Holway). This needs electricity to run the pumps. The pumps act like regular water pumps, lifting the water uphill. This step uses up energy.

Making Electricity from Water

Later, when people need more electricity, the water from the upper lake is released. It flows back down through the same machines. But this time, the machines work like water turbines. The flowing water spins them, and they turn on electric power generators. These generators then create electricity.

Why This System Is Useful

You might wonder why they use electricity to pump water up, only to get less electricity back. The main reason is timing! The plant uses electricity to pump water when electricity is cheap and not many people need it (like at night). Then, it makes electricity when it's most needed and most valuable (like during the day). This helps keep the power grid stable and makes sure there's enough electricity when everyone wants it. It's also very fast to start or stop, which is great for meeting sudden demands for power.

Building the Project

The Salina Pumped Storage Project was built in two main steps.

First Stage of Building

The first part of the project was finished in 1968. Workers built a large dam made of earth and rock. This dam was about 185 feet (56 m) high. It created a lake called Chimney Rock Reservoir. A long canal, about 1,850 feet (560 m) long, connected the dam to a special building. This building had openings for three big steel pipes, each 14 feet (4.3 m) wide. These pipes led to a powerhouse. Inside the powerhouse were three pump-generators. These machines could make a total of 130 megawatts (170,000 hp) of power.

Second Stage of Building

The second part of the project was completed in 1971. During this stage, three more large pipes were added. The powerhouse was made bigger, and three more pump-generators were installed. These new machines were just like the first ones. This doubled the plant's total power to 260 megawatts (350,000 hp).

The entire Salina Pumped Storage Project is controlled from far away. It is managed from the GRDA Energy Control Center, which is located at the Robert S. Kerr Dam.

In 1981, Chimney Rock Reservoir was given a new name. It was renamed Lake W. R. Holway. This was done to honor a famous engineer named W. R. Holway. He helped design many important projects in Oklahoma, including this power plant.

How Drought Affects the Plant

Sometimes, there isn't enough rain. This is called a drought. A severe drought in 2005 caused problems for the Salina Pumped Storage Project.

Lower Lake Levels

When there's a drought, the water levels in the lakes along the Grand River drop. In January 2006, the water level of Lake Hudson fell to about 615 feet (187 m).

Rules for Pumping Water

The power plant has rules about how low the water can be. The rules say that Lake Hudson must be at least 619 feet (189 m) high to pump water up to Lake W. R. Holway. Because the water level was too low, GRDA had to release water from another lake, Grand Lake, to raise Lake Hudson's level. This shows how important water levels are for the plant to work properly.