Hydropower
Dams and reservoirs were built in Wyoming to harness the state’s small and highly seasonal water resources for ranching, farming and water supply. They are also used to produce electricity using hydropower generators that are located around the state. Hydropower is a relatively small part of Wyoming’s energy mix, but is useful because its output can be controlled. Wyoming’s mountainous terrain contains many canyons and deep draws that are perfect for deep reservoirs.
The North Platte River has 6 hydropower dams, which is the most of any river in the state. The Shoshone River has 4 hydropower plants all in close vicinity to Buffalo Bill Reservoir. The Wind River has 2 associated hydropower dams, and the Green River has one. There also 3 major hydropower plants on reservoirs that extend into Wyoming but are not based in the state. Flaming Gorge Dam is on the Green River in Utah, Palisades Dam is on the Snake River in Idaho, and Bighorn Dam is on the Bighorn River in Montana. No new hydropower is planned in Wyoming. In addition to water storage for hydropower and agriculture many reservoirs are used for flood control, recreation, flushing flows, and biological augmentation flows.
| Reservoir Name | Volume | Surface Area | Associated | Note |
| (acre-feet) | (sq miles) | Hydropower (Megawatts) | ||
| Flaming Gorge Reservoir | 3,788,900 | 41.7 | 151.9 | Power plant In Utah |
| Jackson Lake | 3,380,000 | 42 | ||
| Palisades Reservoir | 1,400,000 | 176.5 | Power plant In Idaho | |
| Fremont Lake | 1,370,000 | 7.7 | ||
| Bighorn Lake | 1,356,000 | 250 | Power plant In Montana | |
| Glendo Reservoir | 1,118,700 | 18.6 | 38 | |
| Seminoe Reservoir | 1,016,700 | 28.9 | 87.6 | Hydropower Includes Kortes Reservoir |
| Pathfinder Reservoir | 1,016,500 | 33.3 | 66.8 | |
| Boysen Reservoir | 892,200 | 29.4 | 15 | |
| Buffalo Bill Reservoir | 646,600 | 10.5 | 30.5 | Includes Heart Mountain, Spirit Mountain, and Shoshone power plants |
| Fontenelle Reservoir | 345,360 | 11.7 | 10 | |
| Lake De Smet | 210,000 | 5 | ||
| Keyhole Reservoir | 193,000 | 13.9 | ||
| Alcova Reservoir | 184,400 | 3.4 | 41.4 | |
| Bull Lake | 151,800 | 4.6 | ||
| Grayrocks Reservoir | 104,109 | 5.4 | ||
| Wheatland Reservoir #2 | 98,900 | 9.8 | ||
| Wheatland Reservoir #3 | 71,318 | 3.8 | ||
| Lake Hattie Reservoir | 65,260 | 2.9 | ||
| Woodruff Narrows Reservoir | 57,300 | 2.5 | ||
| Sunshine Reservoir | 52,987 | 1.7 | ||
| Guernsey Reservoir | 45,600 | 3 | 6.4 | |
| Naughton Reservoir | 45,465 | 2.1 | ||
| Big Sandy Reservoir | 38,300 | 3.2 | ||
| Rob Roy Reservoir | 35,434 | 1.2 | ||
| Meeks Cabin Reservoir | 33,571 | |||
| Pilot Butte Reservoir | 31,600 | 1.3 | 1.6 | |
| Hog Park Reservoir | 22,656 | 0.9 | ||
| High Savery Reservoir | 22,400 | 0.5 |
References
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation http://www.usbr.gov Water Operations, Regional Reservoir and River Data/Operations
