Bear Swamp Hydro Project
Building Bear Swamp
The natural basin called Bear Swamp high on the mountain above the Deerfield River in western Rowe had intrigued power developers for many years. When reversible turbines were perfected in the late 1950s the idea of a pumped storage facility at Bear Swamp became a reality and went into the planning stage by New England Power which had owned the land since 1910. The project would create an upper and a lower basin of water available to produce electricity at peak times. When demand was low and excess cheap power available, the water would be pumped to the upper reservoir.
The powerhouse would be in the mountain with vertical tunnels for water and horizontal access tunnels from a road at the level of the old HT&W railroad track. It would require digging out the upper basin and construction of several dikes around the edge; construction of a large switching station to the north and a new transmission line from there across the mountain to tie in with the North Rowe line. At the lower level it involved a 130' dam on the river with the new Fife Brook power station and relocation of River Road and number Five Station. The technology was available but the logistics became a nightmare.
A powerhouse inside a mountain
The construction project included building an upper reservoir, shown here, and a lower reservoir with with a dam and powerhouse known as Fife Brook Complex on the river below. A powerhouse was built inside the mountain while an existing powerhouse was relocated upriver. A five-and-a-half acre switching station was constructed, and finally, to complete the project, three miles of River Road was relocated higher on the mountain.
The upper reservoir today, looking toward the Deerfield River gorge 800 feet below.
What is pumped storage hydroelectricity?
Pumped storage hydroelectricity (PSH) is a type of hydroelectric energy storage where excess energy is used to pump water uphill into a higher reservoir, and then, during periods of high demand, the water is released to flow downhill, generating electricity. It essentially acts like a giant “water battery” for storing and releasing electricity.
Image from US Department of Energy
The contract was let to Charles T. Main, Inc., with an estimate of $30 million. But after four years they were over budget and behind schedule. Contractors often overdid work without following design plans and the cavity blaster for the powerhouse was far larger than necessary, requiring more interior construction.
New England Power Company called in Ed Brown with his assistant Bud Tracy to take over the project. They replaced contractors and sped up the pace of work. In spite of major problems, Bear Swamp went online in 1974, as originally planned, but for a final price of $124 million. It was an automatic plant run from Harriman Station upriver. When the fuel crisis happened that summer, the new peaking capacity of 600 megawatts made Bear Swamp a great asset.
The largest room in Rowe by the numbers
700 feet separate the upper and lower reservoirs
A tunnel 600' long, 25' wide and 30' high leads into the turbine room.
The turbine room is 225' long, 79' wide and 153' high.
Other levels make the space under the mountain equivalent to a fifteen story building housing huge equipment and tools.
Text from The History of Rowe by Nancy Newton Williams. Photos from the Museum archive.