(Fremont County, WY) – The Bureau of Reclamation has awarded a $7,892,138.90 contract to Sidewinders, LLC, of Magna, Utah to rewind both generator units at the Boysen Power Plant near Shoshoni, according to a January 23 release from the Bureau.
The project, in combination of other work on the generators, will reset the service life and generate a higher energy output.
A generator rewind is the process of enabling an old electric motor to regain some or all of its initial efficiency after wearing out over time. It involves removing the old winding coils, inserting and connecting new winding coils, and insulating the complete winding. The stator cores and coils, the outer stationary parts of the generator that create electricity in conjunction with the rotor, will be replaced under this contract.
Work for this project is planned from January 1, 2026, thru December 31, 2027. During the work for the first unit, river releases through the Power Plant will temporarily be discontinued. However, water deliveries to the Wind River will be maintained by releases from the spillway at Boysen Dam. During the work on the second unit, the plant will be back online with unit one.
The Boysen Power Plant generates power that is fed into the Western Division’s Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program transmission facilities, serving the entire division. The power plant has an installed capacity of 15,000 kilowatts. This capacity is produced by two 7,500-kilowatt units operating under an average head (the height difference that the water falls) of 99 feet.
For more information, please contact Hailey Glarrow at (307) 261-5640 or hglarrow@usbr.gov. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.