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Big Island Dam
Big Island Dam is located in Virginia
Big Island Dam
Location of Big Island Dam in Virginia
Location Bedford County, Virginia / Amherst County, Virginia, U.S.
Coordinates 37°32′10.39″N 79°21′24.71″W / 37.5362194°N 79.3568639°W / 37.5362194; -79.3568639
Purpose Hydroelectric
Status In use
Opening date 1850
Owner(s) GP Big Island, LLC (Georgia Pacific Corporation)
Operator(s) GP Big Island, LLC (Georgia Pacific Corporation)
Dam and spillways
Type of dam Gravity
Impounds James River
Height 15 ft (4.6 m)
Length 657 ft (200 m)
Power station
Operator(s) GP Big Island, LLC (Georgia Pacific Corporation)
Hydraulic head 18 ft (5.5 m)
Installed capacity 480 KW
FERC Number: P-2902

The Big Island Dam is a hydroelectric generation facility on the James River near the community of Big Island, Virginia. The project includes a gravity dam spanning the left side of river and a power house on the right bank which contain hydroelectric generation equipment. The dam is located adjacent to and integrated with the large Georgia Pacific paper mill at this location.

The dam is located downstream of the nearby Bedford Hydropower Project and is the last in a series of three dams within the span of five miles as the river crosses the Blue Ridge Mountains.

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