POWERGRAMS

15 ENERGY EFFICIENCY 108-year-old grande dam getting upgrades, face-lift 108-year-old grande dam getting upgrades, face-lift Lay, Lady Lay Lay, Lady Lay Standing on the hillside outside the old Superintendent's House, the view for a visitor to Lay Dam has changed little in more than a century. e soaring red brick powerhouse looks the same as when it was pictured in the second issue of Powergrams in May 1920. Noel Harrison is working in his office with vintage steel windows that provide a glimpse of 12,000-acre Lay Lake, the same view that namesake William Patrick Lay or company founder James Mitchell had when the dam opened on April 12, 1914. e dam is "where it all began" for Alabama Power Co. and public access to electrical power in the state. While the outside appearance is constant for the 2,260-foot-long concrete structure crossing the Coosa River between Chilton and Coosa counties, there is frequent change taking place inside the 129.6-foot- tall walls. Maintenance of electric wiring and mechanical components is ongoing by the eight-man staff but their efforts climb to another level every half-century or so. In 1965, Lay Dam was shut down for two years while the structure was raised 14 feet and new turbines were installed in the six huge generator tubes where 2.5 million gallons of water rush through every minute. Turning those 7-foot-tall, 14-foot- wide, 56,406-pound turbines creates 29,500 kilowatts of clean energy per unit, enough to power about 3,000 homes. Lay Dam's latest modernization started in 2020, including By ChuCk Chandler Lay, Lady Lay Lay, Lady Lay Left: A century ago, employees posed alongside generator that began operating in 1914. Right: Early promotional photo of Lay Dam. PHOTO BY JAY PARKER

• Cover