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Show Power plant feasible at Daggett dam project Construction of a power plant in connection with the Long Park Dam in Daggett County is technically, financially finan-cially and economically feasible, according ac-cording to an engineering study. The report by Ford, Bacon and Davis said a seven megawatt power generating plant can be built at the mouth of Sol Canyon, 10 miles southwest south-west of Manila, to produce an estimated 23 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. The cost of the hydroelectric power generation plant is estimated in the study at $5.8 million. The dam, under construction at the 8,600-foot elevation in the canyon, should be completed in a few weeks, according to a Division of Water Resources spokesman. By using the existing 42-inch outlet in the dam and a new concrete penstock (pipe) running alongside the canyon road, the water will be carried from the reservoir to the power plant, where it will turn the turbines to produce electricity. The report said the project will require construction of 11.5 miles of transmission lines to connect with an existing line of the Bridger Valley Electric Association. The principal constraints on the total annual generation of power are the volume and head of water available from the reservoir and required irrigation flows, the study said. The latter would restrict the generation of power to May through September. Even though this means the power plant will be idle seven months of the year, the continually growing need for power in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado shows there is a market for the Long Park power, the study said. Power from Long Park can be sold because the cost of coal-fired generation plants is increasing and the cost of fuel for these plants is increasing. in-creasing. The study said hydroelectric plants ha ve a life expectancy of 50 years while coal-fired plants have a life expectancy of 30 years. Hydroelectric plants also have lower operating and maintenance costs. Money to build the dam would come from the Board of Water Resources, Division of Wildlife Resources, U.S. Soil Conservation Service, Four Corners Cor-ners Regional Commission and Sheep Creek Irrigation Co. The dam will be 110 feet high with a crest of 790 feet. The reservoir will contain 13,700 acre-feet of water that will be used principally for irrigation, but can also be used for fish habitat and recreation and may be available to supplement the needs of Manila. Water to fill the reservoir comes from other canyons and is diverted into Sol Canyon by a diversion dam. Designers wanted to take advantage of the 1,100 foot fall from the dam to the power plant to have adequate "head" for power generation. |