News - pcgazette.com

News

Jordan power plant rejuvenated

By BRIAN LEAHY
of The Gazette
The Jordan hydroelectric plant on the Plover River has come out of retirement - 40 years after it last produced electricity for the Stevens Point area.

Doing business as Big Plover Mills Inc., Michael Bigalke Sr. of Polonia has restored the nearly century-old power plant at Jordan County Park and started producing power at the end of last year.

"He put a lot of money into it," said county Park Superintendent Gary Speckmann. "The county has not one penny into the hydro plant, so it's to our benefit. It's a historic building."

When Bigalke signed a 30-year lease with the county in 1992 for the hydroelectric plant, the building was dilapidated and hidden by brush.
"You couldn't even see the place when I took it over," Bigalke said.

Built in 1904, the Jordan hydroelectric plant was one of the first in the nation to use the river diversion principle. A channel directs a portion of the river flow to a 168-foot-long penstock (a large metal casing) that then carries the water to the powerhouse, where it powers a turbine.

Much of the facility needed to be rebuilt. Bigalke needed to redo the stonework found in the building, the supports for the penstock and the small dam where the channel feeds into the penstock. Except for some updated control panels, almost all of the equipment inside the plant is original. Even after sitting idle for decades, the bearings were still good and only needed to be oiled.

Some of the century-old parts needed to be replaced, which wasn't as easy as picking up a catalog and placing an order.

"They either had to be recast … or machined," Bigalke said.

Bigalke estimates it took "thousands of dollars and thousands of hours of time" to get the plant back into operation. With a background in electrical work, he did the work himself in his spare time when he wasn't busy with his regular job at Sunrise Medical.

"I looked at it as sort of a retirement scheme, to make some money after I retire," Bigalke said. He also owns the rights to the Christensen dam site, just upstream of Jordan. The Christensen dam was removed after it became unsafe. Its late owner, machinist Harry Christensen, used the small dam to provide electricity to his shop and house.

Bigalke has a guaranteed customer for electricity generated at the Jordan hydroelectric plant - it's former owner, Wisconsin Public Service.

"They are actually required by law to purchase the power from small producers," Bigalke said.

Portage County also gets a piece of the action - 15 percent of the plant's revenues.

The original generator, now back in operation, in the plant is 300 kilowatts.

"I'm going to try to do a little better than that - maybe 400 kilowatts by adding another small generator," Bigalke said.

Three hundred kilowatts is enough to power 150 homes, WPS officials said. The smallest hydroelectric facility still owned by and in service with WPS is the 1,000-kilowatt plant at the Otter Rapids dam at the foot of the Eagle River Chain of Lakes.

Both Bigalke and Speckmann would like to automate the gates on the dam at Jordan. The current ones are manual, so every time there's a high-water event someone has to open them - which too often means standing outside in a thunderstorm, Speckmann said. The dam at Jordan is essentially two dams - the main dam at Highway 66 and the smaller dam at the head of the penstock. The Parks Department has used the smaller dam before as an emergency spillway.

The scenic rapids downstream of the main dam won't go dry.

"We still have to maintain the water flow over the dam that the (Department of Natural Resources) requires for the fishery and aquatics," Speckmann said.

Bigalke would like to open the hydroelectric plant up for tours during the summer months, which would dovetail into the park naturalist program already offered at Jordan Park.

The restoration of the hydroelectric plant is another chapter in the long history of the Jordan area and Plover River.

Archeologists have found several artifacts from Native Americans in the park area. European settlers established a sawmill at the site prior to 1840 - Wisconsin wasn't a state until 1848. The Jordan hydroelectric plant was built in 1904 after the Stevens Point Power Co. purchased the mill site at Jordan for $14,000 from Arthur Van Order.

"It consists of about 175 acres of land, located on either side of the stream, and extending one-half mile north of the bridge at Jordan and some 80 rods below. The transfer also consists of the saw and grist mills just south of the bridge and dam, and other buildings belonging to Mr. Van Order," according to the June 1, 1904, edition of the Stevens Point Gazette. "The power will also be sufficient to operate a number of additional plants that may be run by electricity at night, while the entire power may be rented to operate factories, etc, during the day. Experience has proven that very little power is lost in carrying it by wire a number miles, and as the distance between Jordan and this city is only about five miles, the loss will be scarcely noticeable."

The Stevens Point Power Co. was part of the Stevens Point Lighting Co., which operated the gas works at about where the WPS building was on Crosby Ave. First owned by the Higgins brothers of Neenah, the gas works fueled the first public street lamps in the city when 10 lamps went into operation in 1884. The lighting company changed hands several times, including going into receivership, before the Mainland family, which operated plants in eastern Wisconsin, purchased it in 1900.

In 1916, the Stevens Point Power Co. and Stevens Point Lighting Co. were sold to Wisconsin Valley Electric. WPS bought Wisconsin Valley in 1933 and has remained the power company for the area to this day. The Jordan hydroelectric plant stopped operating in the 1960s and WPS then gave the buildings and land, which is now Jordan County Park, to the county.

The first electric lights in Stevens Point were installed in 1881, when the Wisconsin Central Railroad shop put in four arc lamps.



	Jordan power plant rejuvenated By BRIAN LEAHY of The Gazette The Jordan hydroelectric plant on the Plover River has come out of retirement - 40 years after it last produced electricity for the Stevens Point area. Doing business as Big Plover Mills Inc., Michael Bigalke Sr. of Polonia has restored the nearly century-old power plant at Jordan County Park and started producing power at the end of last year. "He put a lot of money into it," said county Park Superintendent Gary Speckmann. "The county has not one penny into the hydro plant, so it's to our benefit. It's a historic building." When Bigalke signed a 30-year lease with the county in 1992 for the hydroelectric plant, the building was dilapidated and hidden by brush. "You couldn't even see the place when I took it over," Bigalke said. Built in 1904, the Jordan hydroelectric plant was one of the first in the nation to use the river diversion principle. A channel directs a portion of the river flow to a 168-foot-long penstock (a large metal casing) that then carries the water to the powerhouse, where it powers a turbine. Much of the facility needed to be rebuilt. Bigalke needed to redo the stonework found in the building, the supports for the penstock and the small dam where the channel feeds into the penstock. Except for some updated control panels, almost all of the equipment inside the plant is original. Even after sitting idle for decades, the bearings were still good and only needed to be oiled. Some of the century-old parts needed to be replaced, which wasn't as easy as picking up a catalog and placing an order. "They either had to be recast … or machined," Bigalke said. Bigalke estimates it took "thousands of dollars and thousands of hours of time" to get the plant back into operation. With a background in electrical work, he did the work himself in his spare time when he wasn't busy with his regular job at Sunrise Medical. "I looked at it as sort of a retirement scheme, to make some money after I retire," Bigalke said. He also owns the rights to the Christensen dam site, just upstream of Jordan. The Christensen dam was removed after it became unsafe. Its late owner, machinist Harry Christensen, used the small dam to provide electricity to his shop and house. Bigalke has a guaranteed customer for electricity generated at the Jordan hydroelectric plant - it's former owner, Wisconsin Public Service. "They are actually required by law to purchase the power from small producers," Bigalke said. Portage County also gets a piece of the action - 15 percent of the plant's revenues. The original generator, now back in operation, in the plant is 300 kilowatts. "I'm going to try to do a little better than that - maybe 400 kilowatts by adding another small generator," Bigalke said. Three hundred kilowatts is enough to power 150 homes, WPS officials said. The smallest hydroelectric facility still owned by and in service with WPS is the 1,000-kilowatt plant at the Otter Rapids dam at the foot of the Eagle River Chain of Lakes. Both Bigalke and Speckmann would like to automate the gates on the dam at Jordan. The current ones are manual, so every time there's a high-water event someone has to open them - which too often means standing outside in a thunderstorm, Speckmann said. The dam at Jordan is essentially two dams - the main dam at Highway 66 and the smaller dam at the head of the penstock. The Parks Department has used the smaller dam before as an emergency spillway. The scenic rapids downstream of the main dam won't go dry. "We still have to maintain the water flow over the dam that the (Department of Natural Resources) requires for the fishery and aquatics," Speckmann said. Bigalke would like to open the hydroelectric plant up for tours during the summer months, which would dovetail into the park naturalist program already offered at Jordan Park. The restoration of the hydroelectric plant is another chapter in the long history of the Jordan area and Plover River. Archeologists have found several artifacts from Native Americans in the park area. European settlers established a sawmill at the site prior to 1840 - Wisconsin wasn't a state until 1848. The Jordan hydroelectric plant was built in 1904 after the Stevens Point Power Co. purchased the mill site at Jordan for $14,000 from Arthur Van Order. "It consists of about 175 acres of land, located on either side of the stream, and extending one-half mile north of the bridge at Jordan and some 80 rods below. The transfer also consists of the saw and grist mills just south of the bridge and dam, and other buildings belonging to Mr. Van Order," according to the June 1, 1904, edition of the Stevens Point Gazette. "The power will also be sufficient to operate a number of additional plants that may be run by electricity at night, while the entire power may be rented to operate factories, etc, during the day. Experience has proven that very little power is lost in carrying it by wire a number miles, and as the distance between Jordan and this city is only about five miles, the loss will be scarcely noticeable." The Stevens Point Power Co. was part of the Stevens Point Lighting Co., which operated the gas works at about where the WPS building was on Crosby Ave. First owned by the Higgins brothers of Neenah, the gas works fueled the first public street lamps in the city when 10 lamps went into operation in 1884. The lighting company changed hands several times, including going into receivership, before the Mainland family, which operated plants in eastern Wisconsin, purchased it in 1900. In 1916, the Stevens Point Power Co. and Stevens Point Lighting Co. were sold to Wisconsin Valley Electric. WPS bought Wisconsin Valley in 1933 and has remained the power company for the area to this day. The Jordan hydroelectric plant stopped operating in the 1960s and WPS then gave the buildings and land, which is now Jordan County Park, to the county. The first electric lights in Stevens Point were installed in 1881, when the Wisconsin Central Railroad shop put in four arc lamps.