Background
The first plan to harness the Shannon's power between Lough Derg and Limerick was published in 1844 by Sir Robert Kane. Inspired by Nicola Tesla's 1896 project at Niagara Falls, "Frazer's Scheme" proposed a head-race canal ending at Doonass, and was sanctioned by the 1901 "Shannon Water and Electric Power Act". This envisaged a seasonal scheme with a back-up steam turbine to generate electricity in the summer, but the overall cost was considered too great and the Act was shelved. In 1902 SF Dick proposed a sharper fall at Doonass. The British Board of Trade appointed a committee in 1918 which approved proposals by Theodore Stevens and published a report in 1922. This envisaged altering upper lake levels to create extra storage of 10,000 million cubic feet, at a cost of £2.6m. At the same time the First Dail saw the possibilities, and Sean Wall, Chairman of Limerick County Council in 1920 and commander of the East Limerick IRA, asked the Council to make another survey of river levels but was killed in a gunfight at Annacotty in May 1921.
In 1924-25 the new Irish Free State's Minister for Industry and Commerce Patrick McGilligan commissioned the engineer Dr. Thomas McLoughlin to submit proposals. Dr McLoughlin had started working for Siemens-Schuckert, a large German engineering firm, in late 1922, and produced a scheme that would cost £5.2m. This caused considerable political controversy as the new state's entire budget in 1925 was £25m, but it was accepted. The Siemens report drew on earlier hydrological work of John Chaloner-Smith an engineer with the Commissioners of Public Works.
The Shannon Scheme was officially opened at Parteen Weir on 22 July 1929. One of the largest engineering projects of its day, it was successfully executed by Siemens to harness the Shannon River. It subsequently served as a model for large-scale electrification projects worldwide. Operated by the Electricity Supply Board of Ireland, it had an immediate impact on the social, economic and industrial development of Ireland and continues to supply significant power in the 21st century.
In 2002 on the 75th anniversary of the plant, its historic status was recognised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, in partnership with the American Society of Civil Engineers, who marked the facility as an Engineering Milestone of the 20th century.
Read more about this topic: Ardnacrusha Power Plant
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