Snoqualmie Falls: The Dawn of Clean Energy in Seattle
A century before the green energy transition, the city’s early industry turned away from coal and toward the 'falling waters' of Snoqualmie to power a growing metropolis.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The latter part of next week, Seattle business men will be using the Snoqualmie Falls electric power. The preliminary trial of the new water power was made on July 21 and proved a complete success. Since that time, the company has been busily engaged in making a final tuning of the plant in order to remedy any overlooked defects. At the present time, temporary quarters are being used at the foot of the hill at South Second and Main streets in this city, which will be utilized until the reservoir of the company is completed. This work will require about six weeks yet. An interesting feature in connection with the work of bringing the power from Snoqualmie Falls to the city is the fact that aluminum wire is used instead of the usual copper wire. This is one of the first instances of the use of aluminum as a transmitter on a large scale. The present plant at the falls will supply about 7,500 horsepower to be distributed in Seattle and Tacoma. If for any reason a switchboard at Renton is required, power can be turned on to either place. The power plant in Seattle will receive only one-fourth of the capacity, or 1,875 horsepower. The bulk of the electricity at present transmitted will be brought to Seattle. The Centennial Mill Company has signed a contract with the Snoqualmie Falls Power Company to furnish it power, and those interested in keeping their factory chimneys clean and smoke-free can find out by keeping their eyes on the mill's smokestacks. When the fires die beneath the boilers and the flames come out of the city bricks, no smoke will come to roll out from their tops; then the machine is being driven by the power of the Snoqualmie—untouched by coal, and life in the city will be lighter and cleaner.
“When the fires die beneath the boilers... and the flames come out of the city bricks, no smoke will come to roll out from their tops; then the machine is being driven by the power of the Snoqualmie.”
In 1899, Seattle was looking to the mountains for a clean power alternative to coal-fired boilers. Today, that same reliance on hydroelectricity powers the city's aspirations toward a carbon-neutral grid, echoing the early 20th-century hope that technology could improve urban quality of life.
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