Powersite Dam is a

hydroelectric dam 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 ...

that went into service in 1913 in

Forsyth, Missouri Forsyth is a city in Taney County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,730 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Taney County. The town is part of the Branson micropolitan area. Forsyth is located on Lake Taneycomo on U.S. Ro ...

. It is found along the White River, and the

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

it forms is Lake Taneycomo. It was the first

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 ...

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 ...

built in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. Designed in 1911 by Nils F. Ambursen as the largest concrete

buttress dam A buttress dam or hollow dam is a dam with a solid, water-tight upstream side that is supported at intervals on the downstream side by a series of buttresses A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which ...

of its kind, the dam is still privately owned by the Empire District Electric Company. Originally constructed to provide 4

megawatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named in honor o ...

of 25-

hertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or Cycle per second, cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in ter ...

power, it has since been upgraded to provide 16 megawatts of 60-hertz power. Sixty hertz is now the standard frequency of electric power in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, though the old 25-hertz power distribution was more efficient, having less losses.

References

Sources

* Van Buskirk, Kathleen
Powersite Dam
, Program of June 10, 1984 Meeting, retrieved 2008-04-21 1913 establishments in Missouri Buildings and structures in Taney County, Missouri Dams completed in 1913 Dams in Missouri {{Hydroelectric-power-plant-stub