100 years of Hydropower and Dams

100 years of hydropower & dams

Stantec celebrates 100 years of hydropower and dams experience. Dating back to 1920, we have delivered some of the world’s most iconic energy projects.

Leroy F. Harza founds the Harza Engineering Company in Chicago, Illinois, on January 1, 1920. (Harza merged with Montgomery Watson in 2001 to become MWH; Stantec acquired MWH in 2016.) One of the company's first projects is a hydroelectric plant for the Great Lakes Power Company in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

L.F. Harza invents and patents the straight-flow turbine and rim generator, which is used in low-head riverine hydropower developments and tidal power applications.

1920

Harza is founded

1924

Founder invention changes the hydropower game

World's tallest rock-fill dam completed

After the Germans are blocked, Harza supplies Uruguay via a US-funded grant with hydropower equipment to begin operations in the midst of World War II.

The company starts work overseas

The United States and Western Europe provide more than $2 billion to the Pakistan government for the development of water resources to offset their loss of the Indus Basin.

1957

Pakistan Government appoints Harza, a Stantec company, as engineering consultant

The company designs some of the first large dams in the Pacific Northwest, including the 831 MW Wanapum Development and 788 MW Priest Rapids Development on the Columbia River, incorporating some of the first-ever fish ladders and boosting the economy in that region.

1955

Company leads hydropower efforts in the Pacific Northwest

Plans are developed to address flood and sewage runoff flowing into local rivers and Lake Michigan during extreme rainfall. Stantec would continue to support Chicago for the next 40+ years.

1965

Hometown Chicago needs help – engineers step up

The Guri project, located on the Caroni River in Venezuela, is the largest hydropower project designed at the time. The company will work for over 25 years on this project.

1959

Company begins design on world's largest hydropower project

Sixteen of our engineers write "The Handbook of Applied Hydraulics" becoming a must-read in the field of hydraulic engineering.

1969

Our engineers write the book on hydraulics

Pumped Storage provides large-scale, affordable means of storing and deploying electricity. The Seneca Pumped Storage Project is only the 6th pumped storage project to be commissioned in the United States. Harza leads the design and construction management.

1971

Company leads pumped-storage efforts

After transmission lines are brought down by an ice storm in upstate New York, Harza jury-rigs a hydropower station to provide electricity to 600 residents in need.

1986

Hydropower provides emergency relief

The Upper Bhote Koshi facility, the first privately owned run-of-river hydroelectric project constructed in Nepal, is commissioned. MWH was the owner's engineer and operator, and a partial equity holder in the project.

2001

Company heads to Nepal

The team heads to Canada to add 185 MW of clean and renewable energy to the grid by adding hydropower to the existing Keenleyside Dam.

2002

Stantec leads efforts to add hydropower to existing dams

Starting in 1998, Harza (later MWH) provides final design and engineering services during construction of Olivenhain Dam, the first RCC Dam in California and tallest in the US at the time of completion, which supplies water to the surrounding San Diego communities.

2003

The first RCC Dam in California is designed

American Municipal Power (AMP) hires MWH to add generating capacity by designing and managing the construction of hydroelectric powerhouse additions to four US Corps of Engineers navigation lock and dam facilities on the Ohio River to create 300 MW of clean reliable renewable energy production capacity.

2007

Renewable energy is added to the Ohio River

the 185-meter-high Tekeze double curvature concrete arch dam and 300 MW hydropower project located in a remote and mountainous region of Ethiopia is completed after decades of MWH support.

2009

Energy production in Ethiopia rises by 40%

MWH, a Stantec company, provides consultancy services to the first public private partnership in Africa, the Bujagali Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Nile River in Uganda.

2012

First public private partnership in Africa

the San Vicente Dam in California becomes the largest concrete dam raise in the United States and the largest dam raise in the world using roller-compacted concrete while also combating drought conditions and climate change.

2014

Stantec raises the San Vicente Dam

Stantec leads a diverse global team of engineers for nearly a decade to provide design for the world’s largest lock system, the Panama Canal.

2016

The Panama Canal is expanded

Stantec responds to the spillway emergency at Oroville Dam in California and leads the design rebuild of the spillway, bringing the facility back into service and preparing for heavy weather events in the future.

2017

Oroville Dam is in trouble – Stantec responds

2020

Stantec celebrates 100 years of excellence in hydropower & dams!

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1942

Now known as pioneers in the hydropower industry, the company continues to design and lead projects to generate and harness electricity throughout the 20th century. New equipment and processes are introduced including pumped storage. Hydropower provides emergency solutions more than once.

1950 – 1990

Rock-fill dams now commonly soar to almost 800 feet, but at the time, the 275-foot Dix River Dam was the world’s tallest of its type.

1920-1950

1950-1990

1990-2010

2010-2020

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The turn of the century brings about new opportunities. Additional energy is harnessed and added to the grid in the US by adding hydropower to existing dams. Energy production in emerging countries around the globe soars significantly in part due to hydropower.

1990 – 2010

The 21st century embraces clean and renewable energy. More and more hydroelectric stations, dams, and lock systems are designed, built, and rehabilitated. The company proudly celebrates 100 years of success in hydropower and dams.

2010 – 2020

Explore Stantec's Hydropower Expertise

Explore Stantec's Dam Expertise

Expansion at home and abroad

The Early Years

Building on international success

Expansion of services

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