The automatic hydroelectric plant

The automatic hydroelectric generating station of the Iowa Railway and Light Company at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a radical step in advance in the elimination of operator's wages in a station of appreciable size, without sacrificing complete control. This station consists of three 400-kw., 500-kv-a., 60-rev. per min., 2300-volt, vertical generating units, tied in to a system, of which the main generating station contains about 20,000 kv-a. in steam turbo-generators. One striking feature is the entire omission of the usual governors, the waterwheel gates being motor driven and controlled by contact-making ammeters. Each unit has its individual control panel, consisting of the necessary contactors and relays to connect it to the bus at the proper time. A motor-driven drum controller gives the proper time element between the different steps in the operation of placing the generator on the line. Any generator can be started either by a float switch when the pond level reaches the proper height or by a remote control button in the steam station. The starting of the first generator throws on the line the motor of one of the two exciter sets, and the generator cannot be connected to the bus until the excitation voltage has reached the normal value. The waterwheel gates are then partly opened and the generator comes up to approximately normal speed. It is then connected to the bus without field through an iron-core reactance. Then a weak field is applied. Next it is raised to full normal value, and then the reactance is short-circuited. The contact-making ammeter opens the gates to full gate opening and the generator then carries full load in about 40 seconds after either the control button is closed or the float switch is closed.