science · 30 November 1899 · 125 years ago
In 1899, aluminium was first used commercially in the U.S.as an electrical transmission conductor. The Hartford Electric Light Company of Hartford, Connecticut for a transmission to Hartford, Conn. from its waterpower plant at Tariffville, Conn., on Farmington River, at Spoonville, just before Case's Island. The company'a 250-foot concrete dam created a 29 foot head of water which was used to power their hydroelectric plant. The dam powered 2 pairs of 1300-hp water wheels, each connected to a 750-kilowatt generator in a brick powerhouse. The plant opened on Thanksgiving day in 1899 providing electricity from there to Hartford. It was washed away in the flood of 1955.
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