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| Twin 220 kV lines crossing the mountains from Turlough Hill hydro station. © Eugene Brennan |
One of my cycles back in mid-August (the long days of summer seem to be a distant memory now) was from Kilcullen to within a few miles of Turlough
Hill. This is the location of Ireland's only pumped storage power
station. When there's a surplus of power which the grid can't use, pumps
at the station send water to an artificial lake located on top of the
mountain. Once there's a demand for power, the motors and pumps switch function and
become turbines and generators, the turbines driven by water as it rushes down through
penstocks (large pipes) to a natural lake, located at the base of the
mountain. Turlough Hill power station is net inefficient (power out is
less than power in due to losses in the system). However it acts as a
buffer on the grid, being capable of supplying power within a short
space of time, unlike conventional thermal power stations. Battery
energy storage systems (BESS) will replace this type of system in the
future, to cope with the erratic nature of renewable energy sources such
as solar and wind generation. Although getting planning approval for
BESS facilities can be difficult (as we saw locally), it's probably a
lot easier than getting permission for a facility which would end up
"ruining" a mountain as some would see it, or planning permission to
flood a valley for a hydro station.
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| My route. It's roundabout to avoid very steep hills and busy roads. © Eugene Brennan |
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