 In 1883 , Cornell was one of the first university campuses to use electricity to light the grounds from a water @-@ powered dynamo . In 1904 , a hydroelectric plant was built in the Fall Creek gorge . The plant takes water from Beebe Lake through a tunnel in the side of the gorge to power up to 1 @.@ 9 megawatts of electricity . The plant continued to serve the campus 's electric needs until 1970 , when local utility rates placed a heavy economic penalty on independently generating electricity . The abandoned plant was vandalized in 1972 , but renovated and placed back into service in 1981 . 
