Frank D. Comerford Dam
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Frank D. Comerford Dam is an International Style
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...
in the Fifteen Mile Falls of the
Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...
, on the border between the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
s of
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
and
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
. The dam is near
Monroe, New Hampshire Monroe is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 864 at the 2020 census, up from 788 at the 2010 census. The town is located along the Connecticut River, across from Barnet, Vermont. It was originally charte ...
and
Barnet, Vermont Barnet is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,663 at the 2020 census. Barnet contains the locations of Barnet Center, East Barnet, McIndoe Falls, Mosquitoville, Passumpsic and West Barnet. The main settleme ...
. Construction began in 1928 and was completed in 1931. The dam and the power plant were acquired by a subsidiary of
Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec () is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada#Quebec, Crown corporation public utility headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. It manages the electricity generation, generation, electric power transmission, transmission and electricity ...
from Great River Hydro, LLC, in October 2022. Comerford Reservoir is the reservoir created behind the dam, named after Frank D. Comerford, president of the Connecticut River Power Company and the
New England Power Company National Grid plc is a British multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, England. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom, where it owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission networks ...
.
Hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
power plants have the ability to vary the amount of power generated, depending on the demand.
Steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...
power plants are not as easily "throttled" because of the amount of thermodynamic inertia contained in their systems.


Geology

In what would become the Connecticut River, running water wore out a rocky gorge to deep in pre-glacial days. The result was a gentle gradient, to the . The drop is over . The area was called "Fifteen Mile Falls."


History

On September 30, 1930, President
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...
remotely initiated the generation of electricity from Comerford Dam, then New England's largest single hydroelectric development. This was the first in a series, harnessing hydroelectric power in the United States in the 1930s. The power was sent for use in
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. At the time of its construction, it was the largest "retaining wall" in the United States, representing more than of concrete., p. 110 In 2005, USGen New England sold the dam to TransCanada Hydro Northeast Inc.State of Vermont Public Service Board
accessed March 16, 2008
The dam and the power plant were acquired by Great River Hydro, LLC, in April 2017 and by Hydro-Québec in October 2022.


Construction

A camp was constructed in East Barnet, Vermont, in 1928 for 1,500 workers. The camp contained its own housing, commissary, theater (which substituted as a church on Sunday), and a hospital. It had its own hockey and basketball teams. 120 people prepared and served meals. 1,300 men worked the day shift from 7:00 to 6:00 with one hour off for lunch. 300 men worked the night shift. Construction materials were supplied on a special railroad track built to the site.


Major structures

The reservoir has a capacity of 32,270 acre feet and has a full supply level of above mean sea level. The gravity dam is long and made of concrete and earth. Four steel penstocks feed water to the powerhouse, where four Francis turbines rated 54,200 horsepower each produce a combined capacity of 140 megawatts at a combined discharge flow of 13,300 cubic feet per second. The remaining structure is an spillway which is used to discharge water excess to generating requirements.


See also

* McIndoes Reservoir * Moore Dam


References


External links


How the site was selected for damming
Crossings of the Connecticut River Dams in New Hampshire Dams in Vermont Buildings and structures in Grafton County, New Hampshire Hydroelectric power plants in New Hampshire Hydroelectric power plants in Vermont Buildings and structures in Barnet, Vermont TC Energy dams Dams completed in 1930 Energy infrastructure completed in 1930 1930 establishments in Vermont