A major upgrade to the Repulse Power Station in Hydro Tasmania’s Derwent Scheme will bring the company closer to achieving its ambitious plans to make Tasmania the “Battery of the Nation”.
The $28 million upgrade of the Repulse Power Station will boost the station’s energy output by ten per cent.
The upgrade replaces the turbine’s oil hub with a water filled hub to eliminate the risk of oil spills, and will increase the system’s reliability and flexibility, making it better suited to manage increased renewable energy generation as part of the Battery of the Nation initiative.
The project is one of a number of scheduled dam upgrades and improvements to Hydro Tasmania’s Derwent Scheme, which will increase electricity generation by more than 80GWh each year by 2021.
Hydro Tasmania has invested around $105 million in maintenance and upgrades to power generation assets over the last 12 months, including the Repulse project.
Hydro Tasmania Chief Operations Officer, Jesse Clark, said the station was more environmentally friendly and efficient.
“Now it’s an oil-less hub, it removes that significant oil volume out of the waterway, which is a great plus.
“This is in addition to upgrading the machine ready for the next 50 years of its generating life.”