The Wivenhoe Power Station is situated between the Splityard Creek Dam and Lake Wivenhoe. The Splityard Creek dam is situated in hills adjacent to Lake Wivenhoe and is about 100 metres above it.
The Wivenhoe Dam has been built across the Brisbane River about 80 kilometres (50 mi) by road from the centre of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland, Australia. The body of water held behind the dam is called Lake Wivenhoe.
During the pumping phase in the operating cycle the generator operates as an electric motor driving the pump to lift water from Lake Wivenhoe to the upper storage of Splityard Creek Dam. When peak demand for electricity occurs the flow of water is reversed, flowing from the upper to the lower storage and driving the turbine generator to generate electricity.
The Splityard Creek dam has sufficient capacity for 10 hours of continuous power generation. It takes about 14 hours of pumping to refill it.
The pumped storage power station consists of two circular concrete silos, each of about 32 metres internal diameter. Each of the silos houses a 250MW turbine generator spinning at 120 rpm and pump set, giving a total capacity of 500 MW.
The power station is controlled remotely from Tarong Power Station at Nanango and since the government owned generators restructure begin, it is in the process of relocating to CS Energy office in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. All aspects of the operation are monitored by computers within the centre. Twin 275 KV transmission lines connect the power station to the Queensland's grid system.
A second hydro-electric power station known as Wivenhoe Small Hydro powered by water discharging from the Wivenhoe Dam into the Brisbane River commenced operation in March 2003. It has a power output of 4.5 MW.
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