Kerckhoff Dam is a concrete

arch dam An arch dam is a concrete dam that is curved upstream in plan. The arch dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, causing the arch to straighten slightly and strengthen ...

on the

San Joaquin River The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suis ...

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, about southwest of Big Creek. The tall dam is a

run-of-the-river Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amou ...

facility impounding of water and is the primary feature of

Pacific Gas and Electric The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered in the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, in San Francisco, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 milli ...

's Kerckhoff hydroelectric project. The dam and its reservoir provide water for the Kerckhoff Powerhouses No. 1 and No. 2. Powerhouse No. 1 has three

Francis turbine The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency. The proces ...

s producing a maximum of 38

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units, International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), ...

s (MW) and Powerhouse No. 2 has a single Francis turbine rated at 155 MW for a total project capacity of 193 MW. An annual 579.1 million

KWh A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...

of electricity are generated here. Completed in 1920, the dam and Powerhouse No. 1 were the first to utilize the San Joaquin River for hydroelectricity. The second powerhouse was added in 1983. The dam, named for William Georg
Kerckhoff
was part of the "

Big Creek Hydroelectric Project The Big Creek Hydroelectric Project is an extensive hydroelectric power scheme on the upper San Joaquin River system, in the Sierra Nevada of central California. The project is owned and operated by Southern California Edison (SCE). The use and reu ...

", the largest construction project in the world in 1910.https://www.tribstar.com/features/history/historical-perspective-the-amazing-life-of-william-g-kerckhoff/article_5dc91631-90f9-56c8-8865-488dfca0585a.html

References

{{San Joaquin River dams Dams completed in 1920 Dams on the San Joaquin River Dams in California Arch dams Pacific Gas and Electric Company dams Hydroelectric power plants in California

See also

References