| Waddamana Power Stations | |
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 Excavating the Tailrace Tunnel under Waddamana Power Station, 1912 | |
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Waddamana Hydro-Electric power station (originally known as the Great Lake Scheme) was the first hydro-electric power plant ever operated by the Tasmanian Hydro-Electric Department (later the Hydro-Electric Commission or HEC), opened in 1916. [1]
The privately owned Tasmanian Hydro-Electric Power and Metallurgical Co. Ltd. (HEPMCo) first took a serious interest in generating hydro-electric power from one of Tasmania's highland rivers in late 1909, to provide power for James Hyndes Gillies' newly patented electrolytic process for zinc refining, and a "carbide" smelter to be constructed near Snug. They resolved to construct a hydro-electric power plant in the valley of the Ouse River, above the town that bears that name. Water was to be provided by a small dam on the great lake at Miena, which would then divert water down the steep drop using a woodstave pipeline and a flume. Construction began in earnest in 1910.
However, the Tasmanian Hydro-Electric Power and Metallurgical Co. ran out of money before the scheme could be completed, and they sold the incomplete works to the newly formed Hydro-Electric Department in 1914. The works were completed under Hydro-Electric Department ownership in 1915, and the plant was officially opened in 1916. It was the first plant ever operated by them.
The plant operated at its original capacity of 7 megawatts (9,400 hp) from 1916 via 2 x 4,900HP(3.65MW) turbines; a 3rd turbine was added in 1919. After 1922, 6 x 8,000HP (5.96MW) turbines were installed to meet increased demand. [2]
In 1931, the Hydro-Electric Commission decided to construct a completely new plant to replace the original Waddamana power station (to be known as (Waddamana A). However, a lack of funds forced them to build it alongside the existing plant instead. Between 1939 and 1949, construction took place for Waddamana B, and until 1965, two power plants were in operation at Waddamana. The new plant was referred to as Waddamana B, and it generated 48 megawatts (64,000 hp) of electricity from four turbines. [3]
Both Waddamana plants operated through the 1940s and 1950s, but, in the early 1960s, construction of a new, larger power plant at Poatina began. Designed to replace the two Waddamana plants, with the small Shannon plant nearby, the Poatina power plant was opened in 1964 with a capacity of 325 megawatts (436,000 hp), over three times the combined capacity of the plants it replaced.
In order for the Poatina plant to be successful, it was necessary to stop the flow of water through Waddamana A and Shannon, both of which were decommissioned (Shannon in 1964, Waddamana A in 1965). The Shannon plant was demolished, but the two Waddamana plants remained standing. Waddamana B remained in active service until 1995 when it too was closed. Waddamana A now has a new life as a museum filled with original equipment and other displays, including the Control room switchboard from the Shannon Power Station.
Waddamana 'A' station is listed as a National Engineering Landmark by Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program. [4]
Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC) or The Hydro, is the trading name of the Hydro-Electric Corporation, a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the predominant electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia. The Hydro was originally oriented towards hydro-electricity, due to Tasmania's dramatic topography and relatively high rainfall in the central and western parts of the state. Today Hydro Tasmania operates thirty hydro-electric and one gas power station, and is a joint owner in three wind farms.
The Great Lake, officially yingina / Great Lake, is a natural lake and man-made reservoir that is located in the central northern region of Tasmania, Australia.
Duck Reach Power Station was the first publicly owned hydro-electric plant in the Southern Hemisphere, and provided the Tasmanian city of Launceston with hydro-electric power from its construction in 1895 to its closure in 1955.
The Lake Margaret Power Stations comprise two hydroelectric power stations located in Western Tasmania, Australia. The power stations are part of the King – Yolande Power Scheme and are owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania. Officially the Upper Lake Margaret Power Station, a conventional hydroelectric power station, and the Lower Lake Margaret Power Station, a mini-hydroelectric power station, the stations are generally collectively referred to in the singular format as the Lake Margaret Power Station. The stations are located approximately 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) apart.
Miena is a small town at the southern end of the Great Lake in the Central Highlands of Tasmania, Australia. At the 2016 census, Miena and the surrounding area had a population of 87.
The Shoalhaven Scheme is a dual-purpose water supply and Pumped-storage Hydroelectricity scheme located on the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia.
The Bell Bay Power Station was a power station located in Bell Bay, on the Tamar River, Tasmania, Australia, adjacent to the Tamar Valley Power Station, with which it was often confused. It was commissioned between 1971 and 1974 as an oil fired thermal power station, and was converted to natural gas in 2003, after the commissioning of the Tasmanian Gas Pipeline, a submarine gas pipeline which transports natural gas from Longford, Victoria, under Bass Strait, to Bell Bay, Tasmania. As the power station's primary role was to provide system security in the event of drought for Tasmania's predominantly hydro-electric based generation system it only was rarely called on to operate, resulting in intervals of five to eight years between periods of significant use. After the commissioning of Basslink in 2006, the power station was decommissioned in 2009.
The Rubicon Hydroelectric Scheme is a small run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme located on the Rubicon and Royston Rivers, north east of Melbourne, 40 km (25 mi) south-west of Alexandra, Victoria, Australia. The scheme commenced in 1922, and was the first state-owned hydroelectric scheme to generate electricity in mainland Australia, and among the first in the world to be remotely controlled. For the first ten years of its operation it supplied on average 16.9% of electricity generated by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria. It is now owned and operated by AGL Energy and contributes approximately 0.02% of Victoria's energy supply.
The Tarraleah Power Station is a hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is part of the Upper Derwent hydro scheme and is operated by Hydro Tasmania.
The Liapootah Power Station is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is situated on the Lower River Derwent catchment and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
The Wayatinah Power Station is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is situated on the Lower River Derwent catchment and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
The Repulse Power Station is a conventional hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is situated on the Lower River Derwent catchment and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
The Cluny Power Station is a conventional hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is situated on the Lower River Derwent catchment and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
The Meadowbank Power Station is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is situated on the Lower River Derwent catchment and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
The Poatina Power Station is a conventional hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is situated on the Great Lake and South Esk and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
The Trevallyn Power Station is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station located in the northern Midlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is situated on the Great Lake and South Esk catchment and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
The Gordon Dam, also known as the Gordon River Dam, is a major gated double curvature concrete arch dam with a controlled spillway across the Gordon River, located in Southwest National Park, Tasmania, Australia. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Gordon.
The Meander Dam is a concrete gravity dam across the Upper Meander River, located in northern Tasmania, Australia. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Huntsman.
The Tods Corner Power Station is a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is situated on the Great Lake and South Esk catchment and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
The John Butters Power Station is a conventional hydroelectric power station located in Western Tasmania, Australia. The power station forms part of the King – Yolande River Power Scheme and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
