The Wivenhoe Power Station is situated between the

Splityard Creek Dam The Splityard Creek Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway across the Pryde Creek that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The sole purpose of the dam is for the generation of hydroel ...

and Lake Wivenhoe. The Splityard Creek Dam is situated in hills adjacent to Lake Wivenhoe and is about above it. The Wivenhoe Dam has been built across the Brisbane River about by road from the centre of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, the capital of the state of

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 , establishe ...

, Australia. The body of water held behind the dam is called Lake Wivenhoe.

Operation

The

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 ...

power station consists of two circular concrete silos, each of about internal diameter. Each of the silos houses a turbine generator spinning at 120 rpm and pump set, giving a total capacity of . During the pumping phase in the operating cycle the generator operates as a 240MW electric motor driving the pump to lift water from Lake Wivenhoe to the upper storage of the 28,600-megalitre Splityard Creek Dam. When

peak demand Peak demand on an electrical grid is simply the highest electrical power demand that has occurred over a specified time period (Gönen 2008). Peak demand is typically characterized as annual, daily or seasonal and has the unit of power. Peak dem ...

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. 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. It earned almost $35 million when the Callide Power Station failed in 2021. The power station is owned and operated b
CleanCo Queensland Limited
a

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

owned corporation. Twin 275KV transmission lines connect the power station to Queensland's grid system. A second

hydro-electric 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 station known as

Wivenhoe Wivenhoe ( ) is a town and civil parish in north-eastern Essex, England, approximately south-east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the River Colne, and Wivenhoe Cross, on the higher ground to the north, were two ...

Small Hydro Small hydro is the development of hydroelectric power on a scale suitable for local community and industry, or to contribute to distributed generation in a regional electricity grid. Exact definitions vary, but a "small hydro" project is less ...

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.

References

External links

*CleanCo Qld page o
Wivenhoe Power Station
{{EnergyQueensland Energy infrastructure completed in 1984 Hydroelectric power stations in Queensland Pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in Australia Brisbane River Buildings and structures in Somerset Region 1984 establishments in Australia

Operation

See also

References

External links