View of the oil holding tanks at the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Terminal from beach along the Shoup Bay Trail.
Solomon Gulch Dam in the hills above the Alyeska Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline Terminal. Water from the reservoir created by the dam is transported to turbines at a hydroelectric facility located several hundred feet below which supplies Valdez and the surrounding area with electricity during the summer months. Large-diameter steel pipes, originally fabricated for the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline, are used to transport the icy-cold water from the reservoir to the hydroelectric turbines. Apparently, engineers initially underestimated how much the water in the reservoir and supply pipes would freeze in winter, which restricts hydroelectric plant to operate only in the warmer months, after which diesel generators supply Valdez's electricity.
