Duck Reach Power Station, Tasmania
Encyclopedia
Duck Reach Power Station was the first publicly owned hydro-electric
plant in the Southern Hemisphere
, and provided the Tasmania
n city of Launceston
with hydro-electric power from its construction in 1895 to its closure in 1955.
The penstock ran diagonally down the hill into the center of the rear of the power station where it channeled in to successively smaller pipes and finally to eight Siemens turbines.
Two men were killed in accidents.
The following is paraphrased from the display plaques now within the power station:
Originally the installation had a capacity of 75 kW DC, provided by five 15 kW dynamos, and 360 kW AC, provided by three 120 kW alternators. The turbines were manufactured by Gilbert Gilkes and Co., whilst the dynamos and alternators were built by Siemens and Co.. All alternating-current (AC) supply was single-phase. By 1906 demand had risen and it became necessary to upgrade the plant. This was done by removing much of the original equipment and replacing it with four 445 hp Francis turbines manufactured by Kolben and Co. of Prague, each coupled to a single 300 kW three-phase alternator again built by Siemens and Co.. This raised the AC capacity of the station to 1.2 MW. The original DC equipment remained in use.
Again by 1926, this had become inadequate, and to ease the problem a new 1,180 hp turbine coupled to an 800 kW alternator was added alongside the existing machinery. To drive this new turbine a timber flume and a masonry aqueduct was constructed, running from Deadman's Hollow around the bend in the South Esk River to the slope immediately behind the Power Station, where it was led into a new steel penstock running alongside the original one. The addition of this new turbine and alternator raised the capacity of the station to 2 MW. In the photograph above, the left-hand penstock is the newer one.
One of the original Siemens and Co. 15 kW DC dynamos, dating from 1895, is preserved and on display within the station.
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
plant in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
, and provided the Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
n city of Launceston
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
with hydro-electric power from its construction in 1895 to its closure in 1955.
Construction
The site was picked by a surveyor and engineer named C.St John David in 1892.The penstock ran diagonally down the hill into the center of the rear of the power station where it channeled in to successively smaller pipes and finally to eight Siemens turbines.
Drilling the Tunnel
The tunnel was drilled to a length of 850-metres at a 1 to 110 grade. The tunnel was cut through the hill side instead of being piped around and it took 16 months to complete using pneumatic drills. Dolerite is so hard it took one week of eighteen 8-hour shifts cutting from both ends of the tunnel to cut just 2.5 metres however the average speed of the drilling was about 5 metres a week.Two men were killed in accidents.
Operational history
Originally the installation had a capacity of 75 kW DC, provided by five 15 kW dynamos, and 360 kW AC, provided by three 120 kW alternators. The turbines were manufactured by Gilbert Gilkes and Co., whilst the dynamos and alternators were built by Siemens and Co.. All alternating-current (AC) supply was single-phase. By 1906 demand had risen and it became necessary to upgrade the plant. This was done by removing much of the original equipment and replacing it with four 445 hp Francis turbines manufactured by Kolben and Co. of Prague, each coupled to a single 300 kW three-phase alternator again built by Siemens and Co.. This raised the AC capacity of the station to 1.2 MW. The original DC equipment remained in use.
Again by 1926, this had become inadequate, and to ease the problem a new 1,180 hp turbine coupled to an 800 kW alternator was added alongside the existing machinery. To drive this new turbine a timber flume and a masonry aqueduct was constructed, running from Deadman's Hollow around the bend in the South Esk River to the slope immediately behind the Power Station, where it was led into a new steel penstock running alongside the original one. The addition of this new turbine and alternator raised the capacity of the station to 2 MW. In the photograph above, the left-hand penstock is the newer one.
One of the original Siemens and Co. 15 kW DC dynamos, dating from 1895, is preserved and on display within the station.
See also
- Renewable energyRenewable energyRenewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
- Environmental concerns with electricity generationEnvironmental concerns with electricity generationThe environmental impact of electricity generation is significant because modern society uses large amounts of electrical power. This power is normally generated at power plants that convert some other kind of energy into electrical power...