FROM PIKES PEAK TO PEAK DEMAND

摘要

Next time you quench your thirst in Colorado Springs, Colo., realize the water in your glass probably spun a power turbine somewhere between the top of 14.000-foot Pikes Peak, which rises from the city's west side, and your water glass. That's because the city's utilities department, which provides water and wastewater services as well as electricity to the Colorado city of 360.000, has more than 35 MW of hydroelectric generating capacity connected to its water distribution system. There's a lot of force behind that water. At the turbine, water pressure can rise to 1.100 pounds. Compare that with water pressure of around 20 pounds for Columbia River hydro plants in the Pacific Northwest.