Karapiro power plant
| Karapiro Power Station | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| location | ||
|
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| Coordinates | 37 ° 55 '27 " S , 175 ° 32' 22" E | |
| country |
 New Zealand
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| place | Waikato region | |
| Waters | Waikato River | |
| power plant | ||
| owner | Mercury NZ Limited | |
| operator | Mercury NZ Limited | |
| construction time | 1940 to 1947 | |
| Start of operation | 1947 | |
| technology | ||
| Bottleneck performance | 90 megawatts | |
| Standard work capacity | 490 million kWh / year | |
| Turbines |
Kaplan turbines 3 × 31.32 MW |
|
| Generators | 3 × 30 MW | |
| Others | ||
| Website | www.mercury.co.nz | |
The power plant Karapiro ( Karapiro Power Station ) is a hydropower plant on the North Island of New Zealand .
Origin of name
In the Māori language, the name " Karapiro " is composed of the words " kara " for "stone" and " piro " for "foul smelling" . According to legend, Karapiro was under the influence of chief O-Te-Ihingarangi and was the place where the Ngati Haua tribe and their allies from the Tauranga area made a defense pact during the land wars of 1864.
geography
The Karapiro Power Station is the eighth power plant in a chain of eight hydropower plants on the Waikato River . The power station is 3 miles southeast of the city of Cambridge . The hydroelectric power station can be reached from the 1.2 km northeast running New Zealand State Highway 1 and the Hydro Road leading to the power station .
history
Construction work on the dam project began in 1940, but due to the effects of World War II , building materials and labor were in short supply, causing the construction project to drag on. It was not until 1947 that the dam and the power station could be put into operation and the first generator connected to the power grid in May 1947. The other two generators followed in September 1947 and May 1948.
As of 2020, the power plant will be operated by the majority state-owned company Mercury NZ Limited , formerly Mighty River Power .
Barrier structure
The 335 m long barrier structure is designed as a 52.4 m high arch dam made of concrete . At its base, the structure is 15.2 m wide and tapers to 2.4 m up to its crown. Three pressure tunnels measuring 6.4 m in diameter and between 36.6 m and 45.7 m long feed the water to the power plant's turbines. The flood relief is implemented on the north-eastern side of the power plant and has four overflows, each 6.1 m wide.
power plant
The Karapiro Power Station has an installed capacity of 906 MW and an average annual electricity generation of around 490 GWh . The three generators driven by the Kaplan turbines are designed for an output of 30 MW each.
Reservoir
With the completion of the barrier structure, the water of the Waikato River was dammed up to form Lake Karapiro . The lake, which extends over an area of 7.7 km², has a usable volume of 10.7 million m³ of water for electricity generation with a variable storage target of 50.62 m to 53.45 m.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b 09. Karapiro - Overview . Mighty River Power , archived from the original on July 20, 2011 ; accessed on January 10, 2020 (English, original website no longer available).
- ↑ Topo maps . Land Information New Zealand , accessed January 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Lake Karapiro . In: NZ Topo Map . Gavin Harriss , accessed February 9, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c 09. Karapiro - Technical . Mighty River Power , archived from the original on July 20, 2011 ; accessed on January 10, 2020 (English, original website no longer available).
- ↑ Hydro Generation . Mercury NZ Limited , accessed January 10, 2020 .
- ↑ STATEMENT OF EVIDENCE OF FRASER SCOTT WHINERAY. (PDF 2.3 MB) Waikato Regional Council, p. 19 , archived from the original on January 26, 2015 ; accessed on January 10, 2020 (English, original website no longer available).
- ^ Waikato Lake Levels . Mercury NZ Limited , accessed January 10, 2020 .
