Ardnacrusha power plant is a hydroelectric power station which was originally referred to as The Shannon Scheme. It is located near Ardnacrusha within County Clare approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the Limerick border. It is Ireland's largest river hydroelectric scheme and is operated on a purpose built canal connected to the River Shannon. The plant includes fish ladders so that returning fish, such as salmon, can climb the river safely past the power station.
The generating plant at Ardnacrusha is composed of three vertical-shaft Francis turbine generators (commissioned in 1929) and one vertical-shaft Kaplan turbine generator (commissioned in 1934) operating under an average head of 28.5 metres. The scheme originally was designed for six turbines, with four turbines fitted. The 85 MW of generating plant in Ardnacrusha was adequate to meet the electricity demand of the entire country in the early years. The full output equates to about 332,000 MWh generated on an annual basis. Ardnacrusha generates at 10.5 kilovolts (kV) but this is transformed to 40 kV for local distribution and to 110 kV for long distance transmission.
Read more about Ardnacrusha Power Plant: Background, The Shannon Scheme, Environmental Consequences
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