GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Hoover Dam generates, on average, about 4 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power each year for use in Nevada, Arizona, and California-enough to serve 1.3 million people. From 1939 to 1949, Hoover Powerplant was the world’s largest hydroelectric installation; today, it is still one of the country’s largest.

Detailed explanation-2: -HYDROELECTRIC BY THE NUMBERS The power plant has a nameplate capacity of about 2, 080 megawatts. This includes the two station-service units (small generating units that provide power for plant operations), which are rated at 2.4 megawatts each.

Detailed explanation-3: -Electricity. Nevada’s largest power plant is natural gas-fired and recycles three-fourths of its water it uses. Natural gas is the primary fuel for electricity generation in Nevada, and 8 of the state’s 10 largest power plants by capacity and 7 of the 10 largest by generation are natural gas-fired.

Detailed explanation-4: -Hoover Dam provides about 355 megawatts to the Nevada Power system. Contrary to common belief, Las Vegas does not get most of its power from the dam. It also does not get most of the power produced at the dam. California and Arizona get most of the dam’s generated power.

Detailed explanation-5: -Presently, Hoover Dam can produce over 2, 000 megawatts of capacity and a yearly average generation of 4.5 billion kilowatt hours to serve the annual electrical needs of nearly 8 million people in Arizona, southern California, and southern Nevada.