Megawatts by Microwave

24 days ago

The Columbia River Project was initiated for national defense, irrigation, and economic development, with the Bureau of Reclamation and Army Corps of Engineers playing key roles.
The Bonneville Dam and Grand Coulee Dam were built to generate massive hydroelectric power, with Bonneville producing up to 1.2 GW and Grand Coulee eventually reaching nearly 7 GW.
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) was established in 1938 to market and distribute electricity from Columbia River dams, pioneering equitable 'postage stamp rate' pricing.
BPA created the Master Grid, a ring-shaped 230 kV transmission network, which became the first integrated regional power grid in the U.S., facilitating industrial growth in the Pacific Northwest.
Carrier current telephone systems were initially used for communications and protective relaying but became overstressed and unreliable, leading to adoption of microwave technology.
In 1950, BPA launched a microwave network with Philco, featuring long-distance links and passive repeaters, enhancing reliability and enabling advanced fault locating and supervisory control.
The microwave network expanded to cover remote areas, supporting over 1,300 miles of route by 1957 and integrating with computer systems like the PDP-10-based RODS for real-time grid management.
BPA's infrastructure, including historic microwave stations, remains documented under federal preservation laws, symbolizing a major American public works achievement.

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