Owner and operator: Edison Sault Electric Co.
Located on the border with Canada and operational since 1902, the Edison Sault Hydroelectric Plant is one of the oldest continuously operating power plants in North America. This pioneer plant continues to generate between 25 to 30 MW when operating at full capacity. Modern wind and solar projects have captured the public’s interest, but this century-old hydroelectric project shows that time is the ultimate arbiter of a technology’s value to society.
U.S. hydroelectric plants have been using renewable energy for over a century — long before clean energy was considered cool. Will a following generation view century-old wind turbines or photovoltaic panels still in service and producing valuable electricity? Probably not. Hydroelectric projects are unique in that as long as the water is flowing and the mechanicals are periodically upgraded, there are few reasons their turbines won’t continue making electricity into the next century. The energy source may be renewable, but so is the plant itself. An exceptional example is Michigan’s 107-year-old Edison Sault Hydroelectric Plant, which combines historic architecture with modern technology to successfully generate 25 to 30 MW of electricity when operating at full load (Figure 1).
1. Age is just a number. The 107-year-old Edison Sault Hydroelectric Plant is still going strong. This photo shows the plant in spring (April) just after the last of the ice was disappearing from the St. Marys River. The Great Lakes and river freeze over between December and March. Courtesy: Edison Sault Electric Co.
Recognized as a historic landmark in Sault Ste. Marie, the beautiful sandstone building was crafted more than a century ago by Italian masons who used the stone they began excavating in 1885 from the building of a canal. The canal was created to take water from the St. Marys River for a hydroelectric milling facility. Construction of the plant began in 1887 (Figure 2). However, the plant is not stuck in the past as far as its technology and operations. In 1992, its owner, Edison Sault Electric Co., completed an $8 million modernization and automation project that enhanced the plant’s safety and efficiency for years to come.
2. Italian mastery of stone. Italian stone masons are shown fitting the chiseled sandstone on the top row of the wall on the east end of the powerhouse in July 1902 (top); their work remains intact today (bottom). Courtesy: Edison Sault Electric Co.
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