| Somerset Dam Power Station | |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Location | Somerset, Queensland |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date | 1954 |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity | 4.1 megawatts |
The Somerset Dam Power Station is a hydroelectric power station at Somerset, South East Queensland, Australia. The plant is part of the Somerset Dam and has a generating capacity of 4.1 megawatts. [1] It is the oldest grid-connected hydroelectric station still operating in Queensland. [2]
The 2010–2011 Queensland floods cause the station to be flooded, requiring a $11.6 million restoration. [1] It wasn't until 2019 that the plant resumed generating electricity. [3]
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. A PSH system stores energy in the form of gravitational potential energy of water, pumped from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation. Low-cost surplus off-peak electric power is typically used to run the pumps. During periods of high electrical demand, the stored water is released through turbines to produce electric power.
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower. Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also more than nuclear power. Hydropower can provide large amounts of low-carbon electricity on demand, making it a key element for creating secure and clean electricity supply systems. A hydroelectric power station that has a dam and reservoir is a flexible source, since the amount of electricity produced can be increased or decreased in seconds or minutes in response to varying electricity demand. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, it produces no direct waste, and almost always emits considerably less greenhouse gas than fossil fuel-powered energy plants. However, when constructed in lowland rainforest areas, where part of the forest is inundated, substantial amounts of greenhouse gases may be emitted.
The Wivenhoe Power Station is situated between the Splityard Creek Dam and Lake Wivenhoe. The Splityard Creek Dam is located in hills adjacent to Lake Wivenhoe and is about 100 metres (330 ft) above it. The power station is the only pumped storage hydroelectric plant in Queensland.
The Somerset Dam is a mass concrete gravity dam with a gated spillway across the Stanley River in Queensland, Australia. It is within the locality of Somerset Dam in the Somerset Region in South East Queensland. The main purpose of the dam is the supply of potable water for the Brisbane, Gold Coast and Logan City regions. Additionally, the dam provides for flood mitigation, recreation and for the generation of hydroelectricity. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Somerset.
The Wivenhoe Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with a concrete spillway across the Brisbane River in South East Queensland, Australia. The dam takes it names from the local Wivenhoe Pocket rural community. The dam wall is located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) by road from the centre of Brisbane. The primary purpose of the dam is the supply of potable water for the Brisbane and Ipswich regions. South-east Queensland's largest dam also provides for flood mitigation control, hydroelectricity, and recreation. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Wivenhoe and the dam, the lake and a narrow strip of surrounding land forms a locality also called Lake Wivenhoe.
Hungry Horse Dam is an arch dam in the Western United States, on the South Fork Flathead River in the Rocky Mountains of northwest Montana. It is located in Flathead National Forest in Flathead County, about fifteen miles (24 km) south of the west entrance to Glacier National Park, nine miles (14 km) southeast of Columbia Falls, and twenty miles (32 km) northeast of Kalispell. The Hungry Horse project, dam, and powerplant are operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The entrance road leading to the dam is located in Hungry Horse.
Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amount of storage, in which case the storage reservoir is referred to as pondage. A plant without pondage is subject to seasonal river flows, so the plant will operate as an intermittent energy source. Conventional hydro uses reservoirs, which regulate water for flood control, dispatchable electrical power, and the provision of fresh water for agriculture.
The Somerset Region is a local government area located in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, northwest of the City of Brisbane. The region is centred on the town of Esk, which also serves as the council seat. Somerset was created in 2008 from a merger of the shires of Esk and Kilcoy, and is known as the Brisbane Valley, owing to the Brisbane River which courses through the region. However, significant parts of the region lie outside the hydrological Brisbane Valley.
Rybinsk Hydroelectric Station or Rybinsk GES is a hydroelectric station on the Volga and the Sheksna rivers in Yaroslavl Oblast near the Rybinsk town. It is the third of the Volga-Kama Cascade of dams.
The Splityard Creek Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway across the Pryde Creek that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The sole purpose of the dam is for the generation of hydroelectricity. The impounded reservoir is called the Splityard Creek Reservoir.
The Oconee Nuclear Station is a nuclear power station located on Lake Keowee near Seneca, South Carolina, and has a power output capacity of over 2,500 megawatts. It is the second nuclear power station in the United States to have its operating license extended for an additional twenty years by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Nuozhadu Dam is an embankment dam on the Lancang (Mekong) River in Yunnan Province in southwest China. The dam is 261.5 m (858 ft) tall, and creates a reservoir with a normal capacity of 21,749,000,000 m3 (17,632,000 acre⋅ft) at a level of 812 m (2,664 ft) asl. The purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production along with flood control and navigation. The dam supports a power station with nine generators, each with generating capacity of 650 MW. The total generating capacity of the power station is 5,850 MW. Construction on the project began in 2004; the dam's first generator went online 6 September 2012 and the last generator was commissioned in June 2014. The construction and management of the project was implemented by Huaneng Power International Ltd., which has a concession to build, own and operate hydroelectric dams on China's stretch of the Mekong River.
The Baihetan Dam is a large hydroelectric dam on the Jinsha River, an upper stretch of the Yangtze River in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, in southwest China. The dam is a 289-meter-tall double-curvature arch dam with a crest elevation of 827 m, and a width of 72 m at the base and 13 m at the crest. It is considered to be the last large hydropower project in China after a series of projects starting with the Three Gorges Dam. It is also the second largest hydropower plant in the world. The hydropower station is equipped with 16 hydro-generating units each having a capacity of 1 billion Watts, the world's largest turbines. All hydro-generating units of the Baihetan hydropower station became fully operational on 20 December 2022.
Mossyrock Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Cowlitz River near Mossyrock in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The reservoir created by the dam is called Riffe Lake. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric production while flood control is a secondary function. The dam is the tallest in Washington state and its hydroelectric power station supplies 40% of Tacoma Power's electricity.
Hydroelectricity is, as of 2019, the second-largest renewable source of energy in both generation and nominal capacity in the United States. In 2021, hydroelectric power produced 31.5% of the total renewable electricity, and 6.3% of the total U.S. electricity.
Hydroelectricity is currently China's largest renewable energy source and the second overall after coal. According to the International Hydropower Association, China is the worlds largest producer of hydroelectricity as of 2021. China's installed hydroelectric capacity in 2021 was 390.9 GW, including 36.4 GW of pumped storage hydroelectricity capacity, up from 233 GW in 2011. That year, hydropower generated 1,300 TWh of power, an increase of 68 TWh over 2018 when hydropower generated 1,232 TWh of power, accounting for roughly 18% of China's total electricity generation.
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