Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant

Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Powerhouse of Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant in 1898.
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Nearest city	Mechanicville, New York
Coordinates	42°52′41″N 73°40′47″W / 42.87806°N 73.67972°W / 42.87806; -73.67972
Area	18.3 acres (7.4 ha)
Built	1897
Architect	Rice, A.C.; Stillwell-Bierce & Smith-Vaile
Architectural style	Queen Anne
NRHP reference No.	89001942[1]
Added to NRHP	November 13, 1989

Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant is a 18.3-acre (7.4 ha) national historic district located at Mechanicville in Saratoga County, New York. The listing included one contributing building and three contributing structures. The district dates to 1897 and includes notable Queen Anne architecture.^[1]

The district includes the powerhouse, an earth embankment, a concrete non-overflow dam, and a 700-foot-long concrete gravity overflow dam. They were built in 1897–1898 by the Hudson River Power Transmission Company and span the western channel of the Hudson River between the Saratoga County shore and Bluff Island.^[2]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.^[1]

The station was designed to produce 5000 kilowatts from seven hydraulic turbine-generator units. Extensive renovations starting in 2003 have turned the plant into a working museum.

In 2021, the plant started mining bitcoin with a portion of the hydro-power energy. Because running a plant^{[clarification needed]} that still uses all of the original 1800s machinery, mining bitcoin has been three times more profitable than selling electricity back to the national grid.^[3]