Hydro Tasmania’s No. 1 machine at Trevallyn Power Station has returned to service, following a recent $17.5 million refurbishment.
The station, commissioned in 1955, houses four Francis turbines, and provides a total average energy contribution of 450GWh per year to the system. This represents approximately five per cent of Hydro Tasmania’s average annual output of 9,000GWh
The refurbishment has significantly increased the station’s lifespan, allowing it to produce clean, renewable energy for another 30 years, with the upgrade also resulting in a five per cent increase in machine efficiency. This means it can now produce more electricity with the same amount of water.
The machine was returned to service in September.
Hydro Tasmania plans to spend approximately $100-$110m per annum for the next ten years, bringing out the best in its significant asset portfolio.
Hydro Tasmania CEO, Ian Brooksbank, said maintaining the long-term capability of the Tasmanian hydropower system remained critical to delivering renewable energy for the state, and for the National Electricity Market.
“Refurbishing an asset of this size and complexity is no easy feat,” Mr Brooksbank said.
“It involved a full machine strip down to the spiral casing, and then a rebuild which included a new control system, excitation system, governor, and electrical protection.
“I want to congratulate the team on their hard work over the past 21 months to complete this significant project – one of several that our Assets & Infrastructure division is delivering.”
Hydro Tasmania and its consulting firm Entura completed the refurbishment work of the No. 1 machine with the assistance of many other Tasmanian companies including PSL Project Services, RBD Electrical, and Tamar Engineering.
