The power plant was envisioned by Charles H. Baker in the 1890s. Baker was an engineer for the
Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway and would pass the Snoqualmie Falls routinely during his work. Similar to the
Schoellkopf Power Station on
Niagara Falls in
New York, Baker wanted to exploit the drop in elevation of Snoqualmie Falls for
hydroelectric power. With funding from his family, to include his father, wealthy businessman William T. Baker, he formed the Snoqualmie Falls Power Company and bought the falls and surrounding land in 1897. Construction on the plant began in 1898. First, a
cofferdam was constructed to seal the river from the water intake on the left bank of the Snoqualmie Falls. Steam-powered
pneumatic drills were then used to excavate a vertical shaft from the intake to the cavern for Plant 1. A horizontal tunnel was dug as well, which met the vertical shaft at the cavern for Plant 1. A weir was constructed downstream of the intake and just above the falls, to help raise the river above the intake so water could be delivered to the plant. Four
Pelton turbines with 1.5 MW
Westinghouse generators were initially installed. The first operational generator was online and began to transmit power to Seattle on July 31, 1899. The remainder were commissioned and delivering power to
Tacoma as well on November 1, 1899. In 1903 Seattle Electric Company acquired Snoqualmie Falls Power Company. The death of William Baker and financial difficulties that same year ended Charles Baker's stake in the plant. In 1908 Seattle-Tacoma Power Company, a forerunner to
Puget Sound Energy, purchased Seattle Electric Company. In 2004, Puget Sound Energy was granted a new 40 year license from the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission which required that the plant maintain a consistent discharge equal to or greater than .
Rehabilitation and upgrade In April 2010, Puget Sound Energy began a US$200 million project to rehabilitate and upgrade the power plant. The project included retrofitting the first four of the
generators in Plant 1 and replacing the fifth. A turbine-generator would be replaced in Plant 2 as well. The weir was lowered to in height, lengthened by and the water-intake structure was replaced. Lowering the weir will help reduce flood waters upstream of the falls. The
penstocks, which feed the power plants with water, were to be upgraded as well. Finally, automatic shut-off and bypass valves were installed for Plant 2. The shut-off valves will better prepare the plant for emergencies and the bypass valves will allow water to flow downstream in the case that Plant 2 is offline. To promote tourism, recreation and culture, several upgrades to include new visitor centers, hiking trails, a boardwalk and improved landscaping were implemented. Renovations on Plant 2 were completed in April 2013. The new 6.5 MW Francis turbine generator in Plant 1 and the entire project was finished in mid-2014. ==Design==