Ardnacrusha
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Ardnacrusha power station (Irish: Árd na Croise, meaning Height, or Hill, of the Cross), originally referred to as The Shannon Scheme, is Ireland's largest river hydroelectric scheme and is operated on a purpose built canal connected to the River Shannon in Ardnacrusha, Co. Clare. The plant includes fish ladders so that returning salmon etc. can climb the river safely past the power station.
The generating plant at Ardnacrusha is composed of three vertical-shaft Francis turbo-generators (installed in 1929) and one vertical -shaft Kaplan turbo-generator (installed in 1934) operating under an average head of 28.5 metres. The scheme originally was designed for six turbines, with four turbines fitted. The 85 MW of generating plant in Ardnacrusha was adequate to meet the electricity demand of the entire country in the early years. The full output equates to about 332 thousand MW generated on an annual basis. Ardnacrusha generates at 10.5 kilovolts (kV) but this is transformed to 40 kV for local distribution and to 110 kV for long distance transmission.
[edit] History
Ardnacrusha power station was built under the leadership of the German firm Siemens-Schuckertwerke during the mid-1920s and was a major project undertaken by the then new Irish Free State. In 1925 the works commenced after the passing of the Shannon Electricity Act, 1925[1] and by 1927 the project was at an advanced state. A completion time limit of three and a half years, with penalty clauses for failure of adherence to this limit, was written into the contract.[2] The contract price was £5.2 million, and the final cost overrun was £150,000.[2]
By this time the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) was established and took control of the scheme and electricity supply and generation generally. At the time, it was the largest hydroelectric station in the world[3], though this was soon superseded by a much larger station in Russia. Most of the skilled workers and engineers on the power station were Germans. The camp set up for the workers included living quarters for 750 men and a dining room that seated 600. Initially employment for 700 was provided, whilst at its peak there were 5,200 employed during the construction phase, with this dropping back to 2,500 near completion.[2] The construction project was not without controversy, with national and governmental debate over wages, conditions, strikes, and spending over-runs.[4][5]
[edit] References
- ^ Shannon Electricity Act, 1925 Irish Statute Book
- ^ a b c The Engineers Journal, Engineers Ireland, Volume 58, November 2004
- ^ The Building of the Shannon Hydro-Electric Scheme Clare County Library
- ^ Ardnacrusha - Dam hard job - Sunday Mirror, Aug 4,2002
- ^ Seanad Éireann - Volume 6 - 14 December, 1925 - Debate - Shannon Electrification Scheme
[edit] External links
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