Ardnacrusha Hydroelectric Power Station |
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Ardnacrusha (Irish: Ard na Croise, meaning "Height, or Hill, of the Cross") hydroelectric power station was originally referred to as The Shannon Scheme and is Ireland's largest river hydro-electric scheme. It is operated on a purpose built canal connected to the River Shannon. The Ardnacrusha plant includes fish ladders so that returning fish, such as salmon, can climb the river safely past the power station. The Shannon Scheme was initiated by a young engineer, Thomas MacLaughlin, then working for the German engineering firm of Siemens Schukert, in Berlin. He persuaded the Irish government to construct a single hydroelectric station at Ardnacrusha which would power a national electric grid, and enable rural electrification. The contract for the entire work was given to Siemens Schukert. The Shannon was to be diverted, via a head-race canal, to Ardnacrusha, where the necessary fall of water, needed to drive the turbines, would be created. The scheme involved the construction of a weir and intake near Parteen Village, head and tail race canals spanned by four bridges, and the power station itself. In order to complete the scheme within the specified contract time of three and a half years, a vast array of plant and machinery was employed during the construction work. Ships from Germany began to crowd the docks at Limerick, pouring out large quantities of material and machinery which had to be conveyed to the site. A standard gauge railway link, from Longpavement in Limerick city to Ardnacrusha, was constructed. Virtually all equipment - some 30,000 tons - used in the construction work was imported through Limerick docks, transported to Longpavement and then conveyed to the site. The generating plant at Ardnacrusha is composed of three vertical-shaft Francis turbine generators (commissioned in 1929) and one vertical-shaft Kaplan turbine generator (commissioned in 1934) operating under an average head of 28.5 metres. The full output equates to about 332,000 MWh 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. |
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