Hydropower generation has generally taken second priority behind agriculture in the history of Stanislaus River water development; power facilities were attached to irrigation dams to take advantage of the river's steep fall from the Sierra Crest to the Central Valley. However, other projects were also built purely to take advantage of the river's great hydroelectric potential: in a span of about , the Stanislaus descends almost from the headwaters of the Middle Fork to the valley floor at Knight's Ferry. The North and South Forks of the river also experience similarly swift drops, although neither carry as much water as the Middle Fork. Hydro plants on the Stanislaus River have a total capacity of more than 780 megawatts and generate 1.7 billion kilowatt hours per year.