Yards Creek Generating Station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Yards Creek Generating Station |
|
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Location | Blairstown, New Jersey |
| Coordinates | 41°0′2.96″N 75°1′53.60″W / 41.0008222°N 75.0315556°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Owner(s) | PSEG FirstEnergy |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Upper Yards Creek Reservoir |
| Total capacity | 5,013 acre⋅ft (6,183,000 m3) |
| Power station | |
| Installed capacity | 420 MW |
| Annual generation | 753.7 GWh |
The Yards Creek Generating Station is a special kind of power plant located in Blairstown and Hardwick Township, New Jersey. It's called a pumped-storage hydroelectric plant. This means it uses water and gravity to store and create electricity.
The power plant is owned by two companies: Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) and FirstEnergy. It can produce up to 420 megawatts (MW) of power. That's enough electricity for many homes!
Where is Yards Creek?
This power plant is found in the beautiful Delaware Water Gap area of the New Jersey Skylands. This region is known for its stunning mountains and rivers.
When the plant was first built, it stretched into a place called Pahaquarry. Pahaquarry got its name from a Native American word, "Pahaqualong." This word meant "the place between the mountains beside the waters." In 1997, Pahaquarry became part of Hardwick Township.
How Yards Creek Works
The Yards Creek Generating Station started working in 1965. It was later updated in the 1990s to make it even better.
- Two Big Ponds: The station has two large water reservoirs, like big ponds. These were made using earth-fill embankment dams. One is an "upper" reservoir, and the other is a "lower" reservoir.
- Big Height Difference: The upper reservoir is about 700 feet (213 meters) higher than the lower one. This big height difference is important for how it works.
- Moving Water: Water travels between the upper reservoir and the power plant through a large steel pipe. This pipe is 18 feet wide and 1,800 feet long!
This plant is like a giant battery. When people need a lot of electricity, usually during the day, water from the upper reservoir flows down to the lower reservoir. As the water rushes down, it spins giant turbines, which create electricity.
When there's less demand for electricity, like at night, the plant uses extra power from other sources (like nuclear or fossil fuel plants) to pump the water back up to the upper reservoir. This way, the water is ready to make more electricity when needed again. This helps keep the power grid stable and makes sure there's always enough power.
