Paloona Power Station

Dam in Northern Tasmania

41°16′48″S 146°14′24″E / 41.28000°S 146.24000°E / -41.28000; 146.24000PurposePowerStatusOperationalOpening date1971 (1971)Owner(s)Hydro TasmaniaDam and spillwaysType of damEmbankment damImpoundsForth RiverHeight43 metres (141 ft)Length171 metres (561 ft)Dam volume155 thousand cubic metres (5.5×10^⁶ cu ft)Spillways1Spillway typeUncontrolled side channelSpillway capacity2,040 cubic metres per second (72,000 cu ft/s)ReservoirCreatesLake PaloonaTotal capacity19,110 megalitres (675×10^⁶ cu ft)Catchment area759 square kilometres (293 sq mi)Surface area17.8 hectares (44 acres)Paloona Power StationCoordinates41°16′59″S 146°14′56″E / 41.28306°S 146.24889°E / -41.28306; 146.24889Operator(s)Hydro TasmaniaCommission date1972 (1972)TypeConventionalHydraulic head31 metres (102 ft)Turbines1 x 30 MW (40,000 hp)
Andritz Kaplan turbineInstalled capacity30 megawatts (40,000 hp)Capacity factor0.8Annual generation151 gigawatt-hours (540 TJ)Website
hydro.com.au/clean-energy/our-power-stations/mersey-forth^[1]

The Paloona Power Station is a conventional hydroelectric power station located in northern Tasmania, Australia.

Technical details

Part of the Mersey–Forth scheme that comprises seven hydroelectric power stations, the Paloona Power Station is the final station in the scheme. The power station is located immediately below the rock-filled concrete faced Paloona Dam which forms Lake Paloona. Water from the lake is fed to the power station by a short single penstock under the dam.^[2]

The power station was commissioned in 1972 by the Hydro Electric Corporation (TAS) with a Fuji Kaplan turbine, with a generating capacity of 30 megawatts (40,000 hp) of electricity.^[3]

In 2014 the turbine was upgraded to a more efficient Andritz Kaplan turbine, which also has a generating capacity of 30 megawatts (40,000 hp) of electricity.^[4]

The station output, estimated to be 151 gigawatt-hours (540 TJ) annually,^[1] is fed to TasNetworks' transmission grid via an 11 kV/110 kV Siemens generator transformer to the outdoor switchyard.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b "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 23 June 2015.
^ "Mersey - Forth". Energy. Hydro Tasmania. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
^ "Paloona Power Station: Mersey-Forth Catchment" (PDF). Hydro Tasmania. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
^ "Paloona Power Station: Mersey-Forth Catchment" (PDF). Hydro Tasmania. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
^ "Principal power stations in Australia". Energy Business Today. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2010.