Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Project
The Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Project is located about 30 miles east of Seattle on the Cascade Mountains' western slope. The project consists of a small diversion apparatus just upstream from Snoqualmie Falls, and two powerhouses. The first powerhouse, encased in bedrock 270 feet beneath the surface, was the world's first completely underground power plant. Built in 1898, it also was one of the Northwest's first large hydropower plants. The project's second generating plant, located a quarter-mile downstream from the falls, was built in 1910 and expanded in 1957. Together, the two power plants have 44 megawatts of generating capacity.
The project received a new, 40-year federal operating license in 2004. Under the new license, PSE is making substantial upgrades and enhancements to the project’s power-generating infrastructure and public recreational facilities. This construction work is expected to continue into 2014.
View information on PSE’s Snoqualmie Falls redevelopment project.
View information on recreation and tours at Snoqualmie Falls.
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