Kidston Dam also known as Copperfield Dam is a dam in Lyndhurst,

Shire of Etheridge The Shire of Etheridge is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia in what is known as the Savannah Gulf region. Its economy is based on cattle grazing and mining. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government e ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. It is approximately north of

Hughenden Hughenden may refer to: *Hughenden, Queensland, a town in Australia *Hughenden, Alberta, a village in central Alberta, Canada *Hughenden Valley Hughenden Valley (formerly called Hughenden or Hitchendon) is an extensive village and civil parish in ...

and was built for the

Kidston Gold Mine Kidston Gold Mine is a former open cut gold mine in northern Queensland, Australia. Gold was first discovered around 1907 at what was initially known as ''Oak's Rush'' and renamed to Kidston a few months later as a gold rush started. The gold w ...

. The mine closed July 2001. The lake created by the dam has a capacity of .

History

This storage and associated pipeline was built to provide water to the Kidston Goldmine in the early 1980s on the Copperfield River, a tributary of the

Einasleigh River The Einasleigh River is a river in Far North Queensland, Australia. When combined with the Gilbert River, the river system is the largest river system in northern Australia. Course and features The Einasleigh River rises in the locality of L ...

in the Gilbert River catchment. The dam was one of the first dams built in Australia using the

roller compacted concrete Roller-compacted concrete (RCC) or rolled concrete (rollcrete) is a special blend of concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) ov ...

technique. At the closure of the mine in 2001, the dam was handed back to the Queensland Government and is owned/ managed by the Queensland Department of Energy and Water Supply (DEWS). Downstream properties receive water via a pipeline which was built to supply the mine and associated township. There is also a local arrangement to release water (towards the end of winter) to fill downstream waterholes. This allows

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

properties access to water for stock and domestic use until the coming wet season.

Kidston Pumped Storage Project

The

Kidston Solar Project Kidston Solar Project is a photovoltaic solar power station built on top of the former Kidston Gold Mine utilising the tailings storage facility in northern Queensland, Australia. The project consists of two solar farms, KS1 and KS2. The Kidston ...

is a

solar farm Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

on the former mine's tailings heap. It has been generating electricity into the

National Electricity Market The National Electricity Market (NEM) is an arrangement in Australia's electricity sector for the connection of the electricity transmission grids of the eastern and southern Australia states and territories to create a cross-state wholesale elec ...

(NEM) since December 2017, and the Kidston Dam is suggested to supply

pumped storage hydroelectricity 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. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential ...

for matching supply and demand between solar farm and grid. The project was upgraded to solar and pumped storage, at an expected cost of $330 million in 2017. The project signed a 10-year

power purchase agreement A power purchase agreement (PPA), or electricity power agreement, is a contract between two parties, one which generates electricity (the seller) and one which is looking to purchase electricity (the buyer). The PPA defines all of the commercial te ...

with

EnergyAustralia EnergyAustralia (formerly TRUenergy) is an electricity generation, electricity and gas retailing private company in Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based and listed China Light and Power (CLP Group). EnergyAustralia also ...

in 2020, backed by a $610 million loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, and a $47 million grant from the

Australian Renewable Energy Agency The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is an independent agency of the Australian federal government, established in 2012 to manage Australia's renewable energy programs, with the objective of increasing supply and competitiveness of A ...

. Completion is expected by 2024 at a cost of A$777 million. A 186 kilometre single-circuit transmission line from Kidston to Mount Fox. Construction began in 2021. The upper reservoir for the Kidston Pumped Storage Project holds 3.75 mn cubic meters of water as active storage, and 1.03 mn cubic meters as extended storage. The lower reservoir holds 3.25 mn cubic meters of water as active storage, and 1.5 mn cubic meters as extended storage. There is an average drop of 200 meters between the two reservoirs, ranging from 181m to 218m.

Fishing

The area is popular with recreational fisherman. In recent years the dam has seen an exponential growth in the redclaw population. Access for fishing boats is via a steep dirt and rock boat ramp next to the dam wall. In 2017, DEWS installed 14 safety warning sign buoys, approximately off the dam wall, to alert waterway users of the danger of overtopping the overflow spillway. CheraxQuadricarinatus

References

External links

Natural Resources and Water

Reservoirs in Queensland Dams completed in 2001 North West Queensland Dams in Queensland {{Australia-dam-stub

History

Kidston Pumped Storage Project

Fishing

See also

References

External links