Lower Colorado River Authority
Encyclopedia
The Lower Colorado River Authority or LCRA is a nonprofit public utility that was created in November 1934 by the Texas Legislature
. LCRA's mission is to protect people, property and the environment by providing public services for more than one million people in Central and Southeast Texas
. These services include electricity, water, flood management, water and wastewater utilities, public parks along the Highland Lakes
and lower Colorado River
, and community and economic development services to rural and suburban communities.
is a three-unit coal-fired power plant near Fayette County
that provides 1,025 megawatts for LCRA. One of the units is owned by LCRA. The other two units (and the power they produce) are co-owned by Austin Energy
. Lake Fayette is the cooling pond for the project. LCRA uses coal
from the Powder River Basin
in Wyoming
as fuel.
is a three-unit natural gas
-fired plant in Bastrop County
that provides 620 megawatts. The Lost Pines Power Project 1
(owned and operated by GenTex Power Corporation, a wholly owned affiliate of LCRA) is a natural gas
-fired combined-cycle plant adjacent to the Sim Gideon plant and the two form the Lost Pines Power Park. This plant can generate up to 545 megawatts. Lake Bastrop
is the cooling pond for the Lost Pines Power Park.
The Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant
is a single-unit gas-fired plant in Marble Falls
that provides 420 megawatts.
LCRA buys natural gas on the open market and stores it at the Hilbig Gas Storage Facility, an underground reservoir near Rockne. The facility can hold up to 4 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
The Lower Colorado River Authority operates six hydroelectric dam
s along the Colorado River in the Central Texas area that provide a source of renewable energy, and also formed six lakes which collectively are known as the Texas Highland Lakes
:
(30 MW) and the Indian Mesa Wind Farm
(51 MW) under long-term contracts.
.
LCRA's community services programs provide matching grants for community development projects and local park projects, assist communities in planning for economic development, help attract tourism and businesses, and train community leaders.
LCRA operates more than 40 public parks, recreation areas and river access sites along the Highland Lakes and lower Colorado River. Several LCRA parks have natural science centers that offer outdoor educational and recreational programs for youths and adults.
-controlled public utility
holding company
.
Texas Legislature
The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...
. LCRA's mission is to protect people, property and the environment by providing public services for more than one million people in Central and Southeast Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. These services include electricity, water, flood management, water and wastewater utilities, public parks along the Highland Lakes
Texas Highland Lakes
The Texas Highland Lakes is a chain of seven reservoirs in Central Texas formed by several dams on the Colorado River. This portion of the river winds southeast from its headwaters near the border of Texas and New Mexico to Matagorda Bay and the Gulf of Mexico...
and lower Colorado River
Colorado River (Texas)
The Colorado River is a river that runs through the U.S. state of Texas; it should not be confused with the much longer Colorado River which flows from Colorado into the Gulf of California....
, and community and economic development services to rural and suburban communities.
Coal
The Fayette Power ProjectFayette Power Project
The Fayette Power Project, also known as Sam Seymour power plant, is a coal fired power plant located at near La Grange, Texas in Fayette County, Texas...
is a three-unit coal-fired power plant near Fayette County
Fayette County, Texas
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 21,804. Its county seat is La Grange. Fayette is named for the Marquis de la Fayette, a French nobleman who became an American Revolutionary War hero...
that provides 1,025 megawatts for LCRA. One of the units is owned by LCRA. The other two units (and the power they produce) are co-owned by Austin Energy
Austin Energy
Austin Energy is the public utility providing electrical power service to a area including Austin, Texas and parts of the surrounding area in Travis and Williamson counties...
. Lake Fayette is the cooling pond for the project. LCRA uses coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
from the Powder River Basin
Powder River Basin
The Powder River Basin is a geologic region in southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, about east to west and north to south, known for its coal deposits. The region supplies about 40 percent of coal in the United States. It is both a topographic drainage and geologic structural basin...
in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
as fuel.
Natural gas
The Sim Gideon Power PlantSim Gideon Power Plant
The Sim Gideon Power Plant is a natural gas fired power plant located near Bastrop, Texas in Bastrop County, Texas. It is owned and operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority...
is a three-unit natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
-fired plant in Bastrop County
Bastrop County, Texas
Bastrop County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2006, the population was 71,700. Its county seat is Bastrop. Bastrop County is named for Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop , an early Dutch settler who assisted Stephen F...
that provides 620 megawatts. The Lost Pines Power Project 1
Lost Pines Power Project 1
The Lost Pines Power Project 1 is a natural gas fired power plant located near Bastrop, Texas in Bastrop County, Texas. It is owned by GenTex Power Corporation, a wholly owned affiliate of the Lower Colorado River Authority. The plant, along with Sim Gideon Power Plant, is part of the Lost Pines...
(owned and operated by GenTex Power Corporation, a wholly owned affiliate of LCRA) is a natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
-fired combined-cycle plant adjacent to the Sim Gideon plant and the two form the Lost Pines Power Park. This plant can generate up to 545 megawatts. Lake Bastrop
Lake Bastrop
Lake Bastrop is a reservoir on Spicer Creek in the Colorado River basin 3 miles northeast of the town of Bastrop in central Bastrop County, Texas, USA. The reservoir was formed in 1964 by the construction of a dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority...
is the cooling pond for the Lost Pines Power Park.
The Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant
Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant
The Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant is a natural gas fired power plant located near Marble Falls, Texas in Llano County, Texas. It is owned and operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority. The plant was completed in 1974, and has a generating capacity of 420 megawattsCooling water is provided...
is a single-unit gas-fired plant in Marble Falls
Marble Falls, Texas
Marble Falls is a city in Burnet County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,959 at the 2000 census.Marble Falls is about northwest of Austin and north of San Antonio...
that provides 420 megawatts.
LCRA buys natural gas on the open market and stores it at the Hilbig Gas Storage Facility, an underground reservoir near Rockne. The facility can hold up to 4 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
Hydroelectric
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
s along the Colorado River in the Central Texas area that provide a source of renewable energy, and also formed six lakes which collectively are known as the Texas Highland Lakes
Texas Highland Lakes
The Texas Highland Lakes is a chain of seven reservoirs in Central Texas formed by several dams on the Colorado River. This portion of the river winds southeast from its headwaters near the border of Texas and New Mexico to Matagorda Bay and the Gulf of Mexico...
:
- Buchanan DamBuchanan DamThe Buchanan Dam is a multiple arch dam located on the Colorado River of Texas.-Description:The dam forms Lake Buchanan and was the first dam to be completed in the chain of Texas Highland Lakes...
(51.3 MW) - forms Lake Buchanan - Inks DamInks DamInks Dam was constructed from 1936 to 1938 and forms Inks Lake, one of the seven Texas Highland Lakes. The dam is located at 30.7307 -98.3842 about west-southwest of Burnet, Texas. It was constructed to provide hydroelectric power, and helps buffer the large changes in water flow Buchanan Dam, ...
(14 MW) - forms Inks LakeInks LakeInks Lake is a reservoir on the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1938 by the construction of Inks Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Located near Burnet, Texas, the lake serves to provide flood control in tandem with Lake Buchanan... - Wirtz DamWirtz DamWirtz Dam was constructed from 1949 to 1950 in tandem with Max Starcke Dam to provide hydroelectric power and to form Lake LBJ, one of the Texas Highland Lakes. Originally called Granite Shoals Dam, it was renamed in 1951, in honor of Alvin J. Wirtz, who had been instrumental in the formation of...
(60 MW) - forms Lake LBJLake LBJLake Lyndon B. Johnson is a reservoir on the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1950 by the construction of Granite Shoals Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. The Colorado River and the Llano River meet in the northern portion of the...
, which also serves as a cooling pond for the Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant - Max Starcke Dam (43.2 MW) - forms Lake Marble FallsLake Marble FallsLake Marble Falls is a reservoir on the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1951 by the construction of Max Starcke Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Originally named Marble Falls Dam, the dam was renamed in 1962 for Max Starcke, the...
- Mansfield DamMansfield DamMansfield Dam is a dam located at across a canyon at Marshall Ford on the Colorado River, northwest of Austin, Texas. Construction of the dam began in 1937 and was completed in 1941 as a joint project by the Lower Colorado River Authority and the United States Bureau of Reclamation...
(106.5 MW) - forms Lake TravisLake TravisLake Travis is a reservoir on the Colorado River in central Texas in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1942 by the construction of Mansfield Dam on the western edge of Austin, Texas by the Lower Colorado River Authority... - Tom Miller DamTom Miller DamTom Miller Dam is a dam located at 30.2932, -97.7855 on the Colorado River within the city limits of Austin, Texas, USA. It is one of several dams constructed by the City of Austin for the purpose of flood control and for generating hydroelectric power...
(17.3) - forms Lake AustinLake AustinLake Austin is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority....
Wind
LCRA purchases 116 megawatts of wind power from the Texas Wind Power Project (35 MW), the Delaware Mountain Wind FarmDelaware Mountain Wind Farm
Delaware Mountain Wind Farm is a wind farm located in Culberson County, Texas. The farm consists of thirty-eight EWC V-47 750 kilowatt wind turbines that produce up to 28.5 megawatts of electricity. All electricity produced by the project is purchased by the Lower Colorado River Authority. The...
(30 MW) and the Indian Mesa Wind Farm
Indian Mesa Wind Farm
Indian Mesa Wind Farm is a wind farm located in Pecos County, Texas. The farm consists of one hundred twenty-five Vestas V-47 660 kilowatt wind turbines that produce up to 82.5 megawatts of electricity. Electricity produced by the project is purchased by the Lower Colorado River Authority and TXU...
(51 MW) under long-term contracts.
Distribution
LCRA distributes electricity to wholesale electric customers - mostly municipal utilities and electric cooperatives - via a network of over 3,700 miles of transmission linesElectric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
.
Parks and community services
LCRA manages water quality, water safety and recreation on the Highland Lakes (except Lake Austin, which is managed by the City of Austin). LCRA also monitors and protects water quality throughout the river basin.LCRA's community services programs provide matching grants for community development projects and local park projects, assist communities in planning for economic development, help attract tourism and businesses, and train community leaders.
LCRA operates more than 40 public parks, recreation areas and river access sites along the Highland Lakes and lower Colorado River. Several LCRA parks have natural science centers that offer outdoor educational and recreational programs for youths and adults.
History
In 1934, the Texas legislature authorized the formation of the Lower Colorado River Authority to complete the Buchanan Dam, where construction had been idled in 1931 following the financial collapse and bankruptcy of the Samuel InsullSamuel Insull
Samuel Insull was an Anglo-American innovator and investor based in Chicago who greatly contributed to creating an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United States. Insull was notable for purchasing utilities and railroads using holding companies, as well as the abuse of them...
-controlled public utility
Public utility
A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
.
See also
- Upper Colorado River AuthorityUpper Colorado River AuthorityThe Upper Colorado River Authority or UCRA was created in 1935 by the Texas Legislature as a quasi-governmental entity to manage the Colorado River as a water resource in Tom Green County and Coke County, Texas. The authority has since been extended to include Schleicher County and Concho County...
- List of Texas river authorities