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| IHA Blue Planet Prize >> Information >> King River |
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During the Fifth General Assembly of the International Hydropower Association
(28 September 2001), the 2001 IHA Blue Planet Prize was awarded for the first time to the King River
Development in Western Tasmania, Australia, and the Honourable Mr Peter Rae, Company
Chairman, was present to receive the award on behalf of the owners, Hydro Tasmania. |
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The lake created by the scheme has been developed to support both
recreation and fishing and is of benefit to the whole west coast community of Tasmania. |
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The King River Power Development, with an installed capacity of 143 MW, contains the following
classic elements of a hydro scheme: 2 dams, one 83 m high; a large diameter 7 km long headrace
tunnel; a single machine, remotely controlled power station; 50 km of 220 kV transmission line and
some 36 km of road works. |
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This hydro power development was born in controversial circumstances, after a more ambitious
development that would have produced competitively priced energy was prevented from being
constructed in 1982 due to environmental sensitivities. The substitute King Power Development
incorporated environmental lessons learned from this recent experience.
Notable environmental measures were implemented during construction, for example, those relating to
water quality, timber salvage and land rehabilitation. The activities of the environmental team
have grown to the point where the operation of hydro schemes within Tasmania can be considered as
an exemplar of environmental best practice within the industry. |
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