The Lake Echo Power Station is a conventional

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

located in the Central Highlands region of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, Australia. The power station is situated on the Upper River Derwent catchment and is owned and operated by

Hydro Tasmania Hydro Tasmania, formerly the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC), is a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the main electricity generator in Tasmania, Australia. Originally oriented towards hydro-electricity, owing to Tasmania's dr ...

Technical details

Part of the Derwent scheme that comprises eleven hydroelectric power stations, the Lake Echo Power Station is the first station on the Dee River section of the scheme. The power station is located aboveground on the shores of the Dee Lagoon formed below Lake Echo on the Dee River. Water is diverted from Lake Echo by a single -long flume and -long canal. It then descends through a single steel

penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is of Scots origin, and was inherited from the earlier technology of mill pond ...

to the station with a surge tower located midway along the penstock. The power station was commissioned in 1956 by the Hydro Electric Corporation (TAS) and the station has one

English Electric The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during the war, made munitions, armaments and aeroplanes. It initially specialised in industrial el ...

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, with a generating capacity of of electricity. The station building houses a single alternator and the turbine has a fully embedded spiral casing and water flow is controlled via a straight flow main inlet valve and a relief valve designed to prevent spiral casing overpressure. The station output, estimated to be annually, is fed to

TasNetworks TasNetworks is a Government of Tasmania State owned company that is responsible for electricity transmission and distribution throughout Tasmania, Australia. It also owns and operates a telecommunications network throughout the state. TasNetw ...

' transmission grid via an 11 k V/110 kV three-phase English Electric generator transformer to the outdoor switchyard. Lake Echo is one of the main headwater storages for the Dee Lagoon, Bradys, Binney, Tungatinah Lagoon and the Lower River Derwent catchments, releasing water to a further seven stations downstream.

References

External links

page o
the Lower Derwent
Energy infrastructure completed in 1956 Hydroelectric power stations in Tasmania Central Highlands (Tasmania) {{CentralHighlandsTAS-geo-stub

Technical details

See also

References

External links