Lemonthyme Power Station

Dam in North-western Tasmania
41°37′48″S 146°13′12″E / 41.63000°S 146.22000°E / -41.63000; 146.22000PurposePowerStatusOperationalOpening date1968 (1968)Owner(s)Hydro TasmaniaDam and spillwaysType of damEmbankment damImpoundsMersey RiverHeight53 metres (174 ft)Length189 metres (620 ft)Dam volume382 thousand cubic metres (13.5×10^6 cu ft)Spillways1Spillway typeUncontrolledSpillway capacity2,093 cubic metres per second (73,900 cu ft/s)ReservoirCreatesLake ParanganaTotal capacity14,820 megalitres (523×10^6 cu ft)Catchment area715 square kilometres (276 sq mi)Surface area11.4 hectares (28 acres)Lemonthyme Power StationCoordinates41°36′14″S 146°08′19″E / 41.60389°S 146.13861°E / -41.60389; 146.13861Operator(s)Hydro TasmaniaCommission date1969 (1969)TypeConventionalHydraulic head139 metres (456 ft)Turbines1 x 54 MW (72,000 hp)
Fuji Francis turbineInstalled capacity54 megawatts (72,000 hp)Annual generation313 gigawatt-hours (1,130 TJ)Website
hydro.com.au/energy/our-power-stations/mersey-forth[1]

The Lemonthyme Power Station is a conventional hydroelectric power station located in north-western Tasmania, Australia. It is the third station in the Mersey–Forth run-of-river scheme that comprises seven conventional hydroelectric power stations and one mini hydro station.

Technical details

The Parangana Dam forms Lake Parangana by damming the Mersey River. Water from the lake is diverted west to Lemonthyme Power Station via a 6.5-kilometre (4.0 mi)-long tunnel, followed by a 1.6-kilometre (0.99 mi) single surface penstock.[2] The water then runs through the power station, and is discharged into the River Forth, then down to Lake Cethana.

The power station was commissioned in 1969 by the Hydro Electric Corporation (TAS). It has one Fuji Francis turbine, with a generating capacity of 54 megawatts (72,000 hp) of electricity. The station output, estimated to be 313 gigawatt-hours (1,130 TJ) annually,[citation needed] is fed to TasNetworks' transmission grid via two 3-phase 11 kV/220 kV Siemens generator transformers to the outdoor switchyard.[3]

Although much of the water from Lake Parangana travels the approximately 8 km to the Lemonthyme Power Station (which discharges into the River Forth), some water is allowed to continue down the Mersey River for environmental reasons, after running through the Parangana mini hydro station.

See also

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References

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ "Mersey - Forth". Energy. Hydro Tasmania. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Lemonthyme Power Station: Technical fact sheet" (PDF). Mersey-Forth Catchment. Hydro Tasmania. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
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