Splityard Creek Dam, of earth and rock construction, forms the upper reservoir for a power station in the Somerset Region of South East Queensland, Australia.
Owned and operated by CS Energy, Wivenhoe Power Station is located on the eastern side of Wivenhoe Dam, north west of Brisbane. The station, which began commercial operation in 1984, was Queensland’s first pumped storage hydro-electric plant. It is operated remotely from an operating centre used to manage the Queensland electricity grid.
The dam has a capacity of 28,700 megalitres, enough for the power station to run at full load for about 10 hours. Using both pumps, this water can be replaced in about 14 hours. The pumped storage power station consists of two circular concrete silos, each of about 32 metres internal diameter. Each of the silos houses a 250 MW turbine generator and pump set, giving a total capacity of 500 MW.
Public access including swimming is banned from the dam due to strong currents and submerged hazards.
Construction occurred between 1977 and 1980. Major contractors included Thiess Brothers and John Holland.
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