Tarraleah Power Station

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Tarraleah Power Station
Tarraleah hydroelectric penstocks.jpg
Penstocks feeding the Tarraleah Power Station
CountryAustralia
Location Central Highlands, Tasmania
Coordinates 42°18′04″S146°27′25″E / 42.30111°S 146.45694°E / -42.30111; 146.45694
StatusOperational
Construction beganNovember 1934 (1934-11)
Opening date
  • July 1938 (1938-07):
  • 1943 (1943)-1951 (1951)
Owner(s) Hydro Tasmania
Reservoir
Creates Lake King William
Total capacity539,340 ML (19,047×10^6 cu ft)
Power Station
Hydraulic head 287 metres (942 ft)
Turbines
Pump-generators6
Pumps2
Installed capacity 90 MW (120,000 hp)
Capacity factor 0.8
Annual generation 684 GWh (2,460 TJ)
Website
hydro.com.au/energy/our-power-stations/derwent-0/tarraleah-power-station
[1]

The Tarraleah Power Station is a hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands, Tasmania, Australia. It is part of the Upper Derwent Hydro Scheme and is operated by Hydro Tasmania.

Contents

History

The Upper River Derwent hydroelectric scheme was developed at a time in 1934 when the former Hydro-Electric Commission had only two working power stations. [2] : 1  In 1934 the Derwent Valley Power Development power scheme was approved by the Parliament of Tasmania with the Tarraleah Power Station as the first completed power station of that scheme. [3]

Ticklebelly Flat, the nickname for the married quarters at Tarraleah Camp number 2 in the 1930s, is a name for the history of Hydro Tasmania by Heather Fenton, known as Ticklebelly Tales. [4]

Power station

The outdoor switchyard located adjacent to the Tarraleah Power Station. CSIRO ScienceImage 2957 Tarraleah Hydroelectric Power Station.jpg
The outdoor switchyard located adjacent to the Tarraleah Power Station.

Part of the Derwent scheme that now comprises eleven hydroelectric power stations, the Tarraleah Power Station is located aboveground on the west bank of the Nive River downstream from the village of Tarraleah and a short distance from the Lyell Highway. The station draws its water from a variety of sources. Water from the concrete arched Clark Dam across the River Derwent that forms Lake King William flows from the lake and also from the Butlers Gorge Power Station around 25 kilometres (16 mi) via the Tarraleah Canals. [5] [6] [7]

The power station was opened in July 1938 [8] [9] [10] [11] and has six Pelton-type turbines, with a generating capacity of 90 megawatts (120,000 hp) of electricity. The station output is fed to the transmission grid via 11 kV metal clad switchgear and two 11 /110 kV 75MVA 3-phase power transformers. [6]

In March 2023, an upgrade of the power station commenced. [12] [13]

Engineering heritage award

The Tarraleah hydro-electric development received a Historic Engineering Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program. [14]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ "Register of Large Dams in Australia". Australian National Committee on Large Dams. 2010. Archived from the original (Excel (requires download)) on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "Tarraleah Power Development: 1938 to date" (PDF). Historic Engineering Marker Submission and Ceremony Report. Engineers Australia. 19 February 1998. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  3. ↑ Felton, Heather (2008). "Chapter 3: On the Upper Derwent". Ticklebelly Tales and other stories from the people of the Hydro. Hydro Tasmania. pp. 76–120. ISBN   978-0-646-47724-4.
  4. ↑ Lupton, Roger (1999), Lifeblood: Tasmania's hydro power (photo), Focus Publications, p. 118, ISBN   978-1-875359-33-2
  5. ↑ "Upper Derwent Valley area". Community. Hydro Tasmania . Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Tarraleah Power Station: Technical fact sheet" (PDF). Energy: Our power stations. Hydro Tasmania. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Derwent: Tarraleah Power Station". Energy. Hydro Tasmania . Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  8. ↑ Tarraleah power development, Hydro-Electric Commission of Tasmania, 1938, retrieved 25 November 2014
  9. ↑ Austral Archaeology (David Parham); Ian Terry (April 2007), Tarraleah Power Station—Conservation Management Plan (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2014, retrieved 1 February 2012
  10. ↑ Hydro Tasmania (2000), The Tarraleah Power Station : history, Hydro Tasmania, retrieved 25 November 2014
  11. ↑ Terry, Ian (14 March 2006), "'The transformation of a wilderness': the development of the Tarraleah power station, 1934-1951", Papers and Proceedings, 53 (4), Tasmanian Historical Research Association: 197–209, ISSN   0039-9809
  12. ↑ $123M upgrade to Tasmania's hyrdopower icon begins Energy Magazine 20 March 2023
  13. ↑ Revamp of 85 year old Tarraleah power station blows out to $1 billion The Examiner 4 December 2024
  14. ↑ "Tarraleah Hydro-electric Development, Derwent River, 1938-". Engineers Australia. Retrieved 8 May 2020.