Poatina Hydroelectric Power Station

Poatina Power Station is a hydroelectric power station in the Great Lake and South Esk catchment area in Tasmania. It has six turbines, with a combined generating capacity of 300 megawatts (400,000 hp) of electricity. Poatina makes use of a 900-metre (3,000 ft) drop from the Great Western Tiers to the Norfolk Plains in Tasmania's northern Midlands. Water from Great Lake is diverted via a tunnel to the edge of the Great Western Tiers where it plummets down a viable penstock line, which enters the ground again near the power station. The Poatina Power Station is located in a massive artificial cavern hence the name Poatina, Palawa for "cavern" or "cave". The headrace tunnel and penstocks were bored through mudstone with the aid of a Robbins Mole. Water leaves the power station via a roughly 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) long tailrace tunnel and discharges into the Macquarie River via Brumbies Rivulet.

Poatina was commissioned in 1964, and replaced the Waddamana and Shannon power stations. The small construction village, "Poatina", sits perched on top of a low plateau, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) from the stations subterranean location.

External links

Hydro Tasmania page on the Lower Derwent

Energy in Tasmania

Hydro	Bastyan Butlers Gorge Catagunya Cethana Cluny Devils Gate Fisher Gordon Huntsman John Butters Lake Echo Lemonthyme Liapootah Mackintosh Meadowbank Paloona Parangana Poatina Reece Repulse Rowallan Tarraleah Tods Corner Trevallyn Tribute Tungatinah Wayatinah Wilmot

Wind Farms	Huxley Hill Musselroe Woolnorth

Gas	Tamar Valley Bell Bay

Misc	Basslink

Companies	Hydro Tasmania Aurora Energy TasNetworks Alinta Roaring 40s Powerco

Regulators	Office of the Tasmanian Economic Regulator

Historical	Duck Reach Lake Margaret Moorina Waddamana Waddamana B Transend Networks

List of power stations in Tasmania

Coordinates: 41°48′42″S 146°55′08″E / 41.81167°S 146.91889°E / -41.81167; 146.91889