Journal of Energy Engineering

The 1960's and 1970's saw the development in the U.S. and Europe of a number of useful mathematical planning tools for electric power systems. Utilization of these tools in practical application, however, appears more significant in some of the developing countries than in the industrialized countries where they originated. It is not uncommon to find electric power utilities in third world countries that are using and indeed developing state of the art planning techniques in long‐range generation planning. This is particularly so for systems with large amounts of existing and/or potential hydroelectric power. Despite the approximations that are necessary, these techniques furnish planners and decision makers with valuable insights on the range of possible long‐term consequences of near‐term decisions. This paper highlights several computer models that have been found useful in long‐range planning in nations with high hydro potential.

There were innumerable small hydroelectric power plants constructed at the beginning of the twentieth century. Many have since been abandoned, with the advent of large central‐station power plants. Craggy Dam on the French Broad River in North Carolina, built in 1904, is one of these abandoned plants. The owner of the property commissioned an engineer to evaluate the site for possible redevelopment for hydroelectric power purposes. This paper describes the planning, feasibility, licensing, construction, and operation, with the associated problems that were encountered during project development. The powerhouse, with induction generators, exceeds its rating and is connected by a one‐half‐mile concrete‐pole power line to the owners' wastewater treatment plant, where project power is utilized. Surplus power, about one third of the project's total output, is sold to the local electric utility.