FLORENCE, Ala. (WHNT) — Wilson Dam in Florence is nearing its 100th anniversary of operation.
Sitting on the Tennessee River, the Wilson Dam plays several roles for North Alabama.
General Manager of River Management with TVA, James Everett, says the Wilson Dam is not only to power homes.
“Power generation, navigation, flood control, all those great things come together here at Wilson Dam,” Everett said.
Everett says Wilson Dam has been around for 100 years, powering the homes of the Tennessee Valley.
“About 380,000 thousand homes can be powered by Wilson Dam,” Everett said.
Wilson Dam is the largest hydro plant a part of TVA’s system.
“Hydropower TVA is one of most flexible sources of fuel, so we get our fuel from Mother Nature, when we get rain fall so here at Wilson Dam, we can convert that rainfall to the lake storage and then run that water through generated units to help with peaking demand,” Everett said.
Also a part of the 100th anniversary, TVA is beginning a new project called the hydro life extension program, to improve dam safety, and make sure all moving parts are up to date.
Jimmy Springer, assistant plant manager of Wilson Hydro, says teams will come in and remove units to examine them.
“So they will inspect the major components and see if they’re in good enough shape to last for the next 46 years. Anything that’s not will be replaced with new equipment, and if anything needs to be refurbished,” Springer said.
Wilson Dam will celebrate 100 years on Friday, September 12.
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