Holtwood Dam

Holtwood Dam is the oldest of three major dams built across the lower Susquehanna River, and the middle location of the three. It was constructed as the McCalls Ferry Dam between 1905 and 1910 by the Pennsylvania Water & Power Company. The dam was renamed Holtwood in honor of two company executives. PW&P merged with, Pennsylvania Power & Light, in 1955. In 2015 Talen Energy took over PPL's generation and immediately sold the Holtwood plant to Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners to comply with federal antitrust requirements.Holtwood hydroelectric plantThe Holtwood Hydroelectric Plant produces 109 Megawatts of power, using 10 turbine driven generators. The dam consists of a main concrete dam, which is mostly one continuous spillway, with a power house at the eastern end. The water level is raised by wooden flash boards and inflatable dam sections.The western end of the dam has the original, and ineffective, fish ladder. In the mid 1990s, construction started on a fish lift. The fish lift and dam were damaged by heavy rain and rapid snowmelt from the severe 1996 flood in January of that year. The new fish lift was completed in time for the 1997 season and began lifting american shad and other migratory fish species.