Gordon Dam
| Gordon Dam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | SW Tasmania, Australia |
| Coordinates | 42°43′50″S 145°58′35″E / 42.73056°S 145.97639°ECoordinates: 42°43′50″S 145°58′35″E / 42.73056°S 145.97639°E |
| Opening date | 1978 |
| Owner(s) | Hydro Tasmania |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Arch dam |
| Impounds | Gordon River |
| Height | 140 m (459 ft) |
| Length | 192 m (630 ft) |
| Width (base) | 18 m (59 ft) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Gordon |
| Total capacity | 12.5 km3 (3.0 cu mi) |
| Surface area | 272 km2 (105 sq mi) |
| Power station | |
| Turbines | 3 × 144 MW |
| Installed capacity | 432 MW |
|
Website http://www.hydro.com.au | |
The Gordon Dam (also known as Gordon River Dam), is a double curvature arch dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia.
The dam has a length of 192 metres (630 ft), and a height of 140 metres (460 ft),[1] making it the tallest dam in Tasmania and the fifth-tallest in Australia.[2]
Power station
Water from the dam drops 183 metres (600 ft) underground into its power station, where three turbines of 144 megawatts (193,000 hp) generating up to 432 megawatts (579,000 hp) of power, covering about 13% of the electricity demand of Tasmania.[3] The first two turbines were commissioned in 1978, before the third was commissioned a decade later in 1988.[4]
The power station is fuelled by water from Lake Gordon. Water from Lake Pedder is also drawn into Lake Gordon through the McPartlans Pass Canal at 42°50′51″S 146°11′45″E / 42.84750°S 146.19583°E.
History
| Gordon Dam bridge | |
|---|---|
| Carries | Pedestrians[5] |
| Characteristics | |
| Width | 2.7 metres (8 ft 10 in) |
In 1963, the Federal Government of Australia provided a A$5 million grant to Tasmania's Hydro-Electric Commission to build the Gordon River Road from Maydena into the Gordon River area in the South West Wilderness region.[6] Construction was underway by 1964, and within three years, the Tasmanian State Parliament approved the Gordon River Power Development with little in house opposition in 1967.
The completed Gordon Dam was the only dam built on the Gordon River, despite the support of Tasmanian politicians such as Eric Reece, Robyn Gray, and others to build the Franklin Dam further downstream.
The dam was designed with Dr. Sergio Guidici as the chief engineer. He went on to be involved with the design of the Crotty Dam in the West Coast Range, one of the last significant dams created by Hydro Tasmania during its unabated dam-building era.
-
Shaft connecting the third turbine to the rotor. The bearing at the top supports the load of the shaft and turbine, the bottom bearing is primarily for alignment.
-
Main shut off butterfly valve for second turbine.
-
Stator and rotor for second turbine. The clear port in the foreground allows the view of bearing lubricant.
See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gordon Dam. |
- Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park
- List of power stations in Tasmania
- Southwest National Park
References
- ↑ "Gordon_Power_Station Fact Sheet". hydro.com.au.
- ↑ "Australia's Highest Dams" (pdf). The Australian National Committee on Large Dams Incorporated. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
The five tallest dams listed in order of decreasing height are: Dartmouth Dam, 180 metres (590 ft), Victoria; Thomson River Dam, 166 metres (545 ft), Victoria; Talbingo Dam, 162 metres (531 ft), NSW; Warragamba Dam, 142 metres (466 ft), NSW; Gordon Dam, 140 metres (460 ft), Tasmania
- ↑ "The Gordon Catchment".
- ↑ "Engineers Australia". National Engineering Landmark explanatory pdf.
- ↑ "Southwest National Park".
- ↑ Thompson, Peter (1981) Power In Tasmania ACF ISBN 0-85802-064-5 pp.19
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||