Tumut Hydroelectric Power Station () is a series of three of the original four, now five

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

power stations on the Tumut River in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, that are part of the

Snowy Mountains Scheme The Snowy Mountains Scheme or Snowy scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. The Scheme consists of sixteen major dams; nine power stations; two pumping stations; and of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts that ...

. The generating assets of the three Tumut power stations are owned by

Snowy Hydro Limited Snowy Hydro Limited is an electricity generation and retailing company in Australia that owns, manages, and maintains the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme which consists of nine hydro-electric power stations and sixteen large dams connecte ...

, a company whose shareholders include the governments of

, and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The company is also licensed to manage the water rights used by the power stations.

Stations

Tumut 1 Underground Power Station

Located downstream of

Tumut Pond Dam Tumut Pond Dam () is a major ungated concrete arch dam across the upper reaches of the Tumut River in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is for the generation of hydro-power and is one of the sixteen majo ...

and below ground level, Tumut 1 Power Station is situated approximately south-west from Cabramurra, under Happy Valley Rd. An Lift & Ventilation Shaft are on Happy Valley Rd.
The conventional hydroelectric power station has four

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating ...

generators, with a generating capacity of of electricity; and a net generation of per annum. The power station was completed in 1959, and has rated

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals ...

. The first 330 kV transmission lines were commissioned in New South Wales at the Tumut 1 Power Station during the 1950s. These cables were manufactured in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and linked to the underground transformers at Tumut 1, and connected with the transmission line. The lines carried power to Sydney where new sub-stations were established, to handle the upgrade from 132 kV transmission lines. This innovative plan, which faced significant scepticism initially, was considered to be at the forefront of technology which challenged designers and overseas manufacturers. Extra high voltage was in its infancy in the early 1950s. The lines were subject to a 1000 kV test on the cables prior to them going into service. These cables and the transmission system have been in service for over 50 years. The original transformer at Tumut 1 weighed ; and each assembled generator rotor is in excess of necessitating delivery in component pieces and assembly on site. The station is connected to 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 el ...

via the 330kV Upper Tumut Switching Station, North of Cabramurra. Upper Tumut Power Station is sometimes used as a colloquial term to refer to both Tumut 1 and Tumut 2 Underground Power Stations.

Tumut 2 Underground Power Station

Tumut 2 Power Station is situated approximately north of north-west from Cabramurra, under Goat Ridge Rd, some below ground level.
The conventional hydroelectric power station has four

Francis turbine The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency. The proc ...

generators, with a combined generating capacity of and a net generation of per annum. The power station was completed in 1962, and has rated head. Water flows through the turbines at the rate of . The conventional gravity-fed hydroelectric power station is fed by water held in Tumut Two Pondage and from water discharged from Tumut 1 Power Station. The station is connected to the

via the 330kV Upper Tumut Switching Station, North of Cabramurra.

Tumut 3 Power Station

Tumut 3 Power Station is the first major pumped storage hydroelectric power station in Australia. Pump-storage schemes use off-peak energy to pump water to a reservoir on a higher level. This water then passes through turbines to generate electricity when prices are higher. The sole powerhouse is located above ground, below

Talbingo Dam Talbingo Dam is a major ungated rock fill with clay core embankment dam with concrete chute spillway across the Tumut River upstream of Talbingo in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The impounded reservoir is called T ...

. The power station is fitted with six

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, ...

turbines, each equipped with

Melco Melco Holdings Inc. is a family business founded by Makoto Maki in 1975 and is located in Japan. The company's most recognizable brand is Buffalo Inc. Buffalo Inc. is currently one of the 16 subsidiaries of Melco Holdings Inc., initially found ...

-manufactured generators, has a combined generating capacity of of electricity. Three of the six units can operate as pumps. The design for the power station was managed by Peter Hughes AM. It was completed in 1973, upgraded in 2012 and has rated head. Water is carried in six pipelines, each long and in diameter, delivering water both from and to Talbingo Reservoir. The pumps draw water from

Jounama Pondage Jounama Dam is a major ungated rockfill embankment dam across the Tumut River in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is for the generation of hydro-power and is one of the sixteen major dams that comprise ...

at the rate of , returning water to Talbingo Reservoir for later generation use in periods of peak-demand. During 2003, Snowy Hydro commissioned six micro-hydro generators on the existing cooling water systems on each of the six generating units at Tumut 3 Power Station. These GreenPower accredited units enable Snowy Hydro to save approximately of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

per annum. In addition, this installation not only captures previous wasted renewable energy, but also will be substantially reducing the noise that was associated with the previous pressure reducing valves on the six generating unit's cooling systems. Between 2009 and December 2011, there was a major upgrade of Tumut 3, adding additional capacity in the range of to per unit. The station is connected to the

via the 330kV Lower Tumut Switching Station, 500m North West of Tumut 3 or 3.0 km south of south-west from Talbingo.

References

External links