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| Golden Falls dam, Ballymore Eustace. © Eugene Brennan |
According
to the ESB, a flow rate of 15 m³/s (cubic metres per second) is
estimated for today, 13th November, from 00:00 to 24:00. That's 15
tonnes of water per second. The compensatory/buffer lake at Ballymore
Eustace has risen by 9 m since 14th October. The lake acts as a buffer
to cater for larger releases at the Poulaphouca dam. I'm guessing some
of this water may be through the sluice gates and over the spillways, if
the water has reached "overflow" level, rather than through the
penstock (a large diameter pipe) feeding the alternator. I've put in a
query to the ESB, requesting answers to some technical questions.
The
Golden Falls hydroelectric power station has a single three-phase
alternator that generates 4 MW of electrical power. For comparison,
onshore windmills typically output 2 to 3.5 MW.
An MW is a megawatt, equal to one million watts or 1,000 kilowatts (enough to power 1,000 one-bar electric fires).
More information is available on the esbhydro website here:
An MW is a megawatt, equal to one million watts or 1,000 kilowatts (enough to power 1,000 one-bar electric fires).
More information is available on the esbhydro website here: