Wivenhoe Power Station

The Wivenhoe Power Station is situated between the Splityard Creek Dam and Lake Wivenhoe. The Splityard Creek dam is situated in hills adjacent to Lake Wivenhoe and is about 100 metres (330 ft) above it.[2]

Wivenhoe Power Station
Power station at Splityard Creek Dam
CountryAustralia
LocationWivenhoe Pocket, Queensland
Coordinates27°22′20″S 152°37′55″E
StatusOperational
Opening date1984
Owner(s)CleanCo
Upper reservoir
CreatesSplityard Creek Dam
Total capacity28,600-megalitre
Lower reservoir
CreatesLake Wivenhoe
Power Station
Hydraulic head76 m (249 ft)[1]
Installed capacity500 MW

The Wivenhoe Dam has been built across the Brisbane River about 80 kilometres (50 mi) by road from the centre of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland, Australia. The body of water held behind the dam is called Lake Wivenhoe.

Operation

The pumped storage hydroelectricity power station consists of two circular concrete silos, each of about 32 metres (105 ft) internal diameter.[2] Each of the silos houses a 250 megawatts (340,000 hp) turbine generator spinning at 120 rpm and pump set, giving a total capacity of 500 megawatts (670,000 hp).

During the pumping phase in the operating cycle the generator operates as a 240MW electric motor driving the pump to lift water from Lake Wivenhoe to the upper storage of the 28,600-megalitre[1] Splityard Creek Dam.[2] When peak demand for electricity occurs the flow of water is reversed, flowing from the upper to the lower storage and driving the turbine generator to generate electricity.[2] The Splityard Creek dam has sufficient capacity for 10 hours of continuous power generation. It takes about 14 hours of pumping to refill it. Wivenhoe is used in 20% of peak hours, reducing peak price obtained by other power plants.[3]

The power station is owned and operated by CleanCo Queensland Limited a Queensland Government owned corporation.[4] Twin 275 kV transmission lines connect the power station to Queensland's grid system.

A second hydro-electric power station known as Wivenhoe Small Hydro powered by water discharging from the Wivenhoe Dam into the Brisbane River commenced operation in March 2003. It has a much lower power output of 4.5 MW.

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See also
  • List of active power stations in Queensland

References
  1. "Register of Large Dams in Australia" (Excel (requires download)). Dams information. Australian National Committee on Large Dams. 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  2. "Wivenhoe Power Station". SEQ Water. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  3. "Wivenhoe pumped hydro: the big little plant that didn't". 22 February 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  4. "CleanCo QLD: About us". cleancoqueensland.com.au. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
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