Lake Margaret Power Scheme

The Lake Margaret power scheme supplies power to the west coast of Tasmania, principally to the Mt Lyell copper mine.

Lake Margaret is situated high up on Mt Sedgwick. The catchment area is small at 20 square kilometres but the rainfall is high at an average of around 3500 millimetres per year.

Water from the lake is conveyed to the power stations through a 2 km woodstave pipeline and steel penstocks.

There are two power stations. The larger, upper power station has seven 1.2 MW generators producing around 50 GWh of energy per year (pictured below). Water is discharged into the Yolande River.

The lower station is situated about 2 km down the Yolande River. It will feature a new 3.2 MW mini-hydro generator, expected to be commissioned in mid 2010. The proposed mini-hydro project will upgrade the existing weir, pipeline, penstock and power station housing and produce approximately 22 GWH per year.

Lake Margaret Power Station

For more information on the redevelopment click here.

History

The upper Lake Margaret power station was originally commissioned in 1914, and again in 2009. It was built by the Mt Lyell Mining and Railway Company to provide electricity for its mines and associated townships (including Queenstown).

In 1985 Hydro Tasmania bought the Lake Margaret power scheme from the Mt Lyell Mining and Railway Company which continued to operate it under an agreement.

The operation and maintenance of the pipeline became no longer viable due to its age and condition. A decision was made to decommission the 68-year old wooden pipeline and as a result, on 1 July 2006, Hydro Tasmania closed the power station.

In 2008, as part of Hydro Tasmania’s power system enhancement, the Lake Margaret power station was deemed viable for operation. This was due to the revised cost of replacing the pipeline, a minimalist refurbishment of the original power station (which also kept cultural heritage values) and a modification to enable unattended operation. The power station was recommissioned in November 2009.

updated December 2009