Wivenhoe Power Station
Power station at Splityard Creek Dam
CountryAustralia
LocationWivenhoe Pocket, Queensland
Coordinates27°22′20″S 152°37′55″E / 27.37222°S 152.63194°E / -27.37222; 152.63194
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 capacity570 MW

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]

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 285 megawatts (382,000 hp) turbine generator spinning at 120 rpm and pump set, giving a total capacity of 570 megawatts (760,000 hp).[3]

During the pumping phase in the operating cycle the generator operates as a 240 megawatts (320,000 hp) 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.[4] It earned almost $35 million when the Callide Power Station failed in 2021.[5] The power station is owned and operated by CleanCo Queensland Limited a Queensland Government owned corporation.[6] Twin 275KV 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. In 2021, a major overhaul project was planned to preserve the reliability of the plant, and to create 100 new jobs in accordance to Australia's recovery plan from Covid-19[7][8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Register of Large Dams in Australia". Dams information. Australian National Committee on Large Dams. 2010. Archived from the original (Excel (requires download)) on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Wivenhoe Power Station". SEQ Water. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  3. ↑ "WIVENHOE PUMPED STORAGE HYDROELECTRIC POWER STATION" (PDF). Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "Wivenhoe pumped hydro: the big little plant that didn't". 22 February 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  5. ↑ Parkinson, Giles (22 July 2021). "Wivenhoe pockets rare windfall from Callide coal explosion, but where was big battery?". RenewEconomy. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "CleanCo QLD: About us". cleancoqueensland.com.au. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  7. ↑ https://www.waterpowermagazine.com/news/newsmajor-overhaul-planned-for-wivenhoe-project-australia-8886078
  8. ↑ "Major renewables overhaul for pumped hydro powerhouse". Ministerial Media Statements. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
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