Niagara Power Station and Drainage Tunnel Tour

[Bolt]

 @Ontario Firewood Resource  Cheers for that Anthony, it was pretty slick (but then I’ve always been a sucker for a power plant tour)

[Bolt]

Possibly the closest thing in the UK is this:

 

 

 

Been there a few times, and the scale is amazing.

 

Took the family once, on the visitor tour thing, which busses you deep right into the workings.

 

Typically, they were singularly unimpressed!

 

[Ontario Firewood Resource]

21 minutes ago, Bolt said:

 @Ontario Firewood Resource  Cheers for that Anthony, it was pretty slick (but then I’ve always been a sucker for a power plant tour)

Thank you, I'm blessed to live relatively close by. Lots to discover on future visits. Ill see if I can get a tour of the modern plant

[Ontario Firewood Resource]

27 minutes ago, Bolt said:

Possibly the closest thing in the UK is this:

 

 

 

Been there a few times, and the scale is amazing.

 

Took the family once, on the visitor tour thing, which busses you deep right into the workings.

 

Typically, they were singularly unimpressed!

 

Thats a big project! Much bigger than Niagara. I was guessing that one of the tubes was for pumping water back up because the lake is clearly not self sustaining for the volume of water needed

[Bolt]

21 minutes ago, Ontario Firewood Resource said:

Thats a big project! Much bigger than Niagara. I was guessing that one of the tubes was for pumping water back up because the lake is clearly not self sustaining for the volume of water needed

It is pretty sizeable.

 

The turbines are generally only used during spikes of daily peak demand.  They can go from generating nothing to full output in a matter of seconds.  Electricity is transmitted via underground cables at 400kV.

 

During the periods of low demand, all turbines can be ‘used in reverse’ to pump the water back to the top reservoir.

 

It is, in effect, a giant battery, with an additional benefit of being a key part of the national grid’s ‘black start’ strategy.

[openspaceman]

11 hours ago, Bolt said:

During the periods of low demand, all turbines can be ‘used in reverse’ to pump the water back to the top reservoir.

 

Yes and one can stand at the top reservoir and see how the level change. It was built when CEGB ran all electricity generation, probably to soak up the output from Trawsfynydd in the early morning.

 

What fascinated me was that the turbines are quite a bit lower than the lower reservoir which must be to keep them under pressure to prevent cavitation.

 

The reservoirs are sterile and separate from the local hydrology as the turbines will mash anything passing through, so not that good for the local wildlife.

 

We will be seeing (I hope) plenty of new ideas for energy storage for peak lopping over the coming years, compressed air, liquid air and others that store for a bit longer than batteries. IMO money would be better spent on these and rooftop solar panels than the £1000 per household being invested at Sizewell.

11 hours ago, Bolt said:

It is, in effect, a giant battery, with an additional benefit of being a key part of the national grid’s ‘black start’ strategy.

For a quick start the turbines are spun up in compressed air until they are needed to generate and water is let in, I did the tour many years ago.

[monkeybusiness]

5 hours ago, openspaceman said:

 

What fascinated me was that the turbines are quite a bit lower than the lower reservoir which must be to keep them under pressure to prevent cavitation.

 

I’d think the main reason for it would be to prime the turbines when they are being used as pumps - it would take some drawing up the tube to get the initial ‘bite’ on the water otherwise!

[trigger_andy]

On 07/11/2022 at 18:49, eggsarascal said:

Tell us about tunnelling, I’ve done a bit in my time.

Another euphemism for your nightly Gay Cruising? 

[eggsarascal]

1 hour ago, trigger_andy said:

Another euphemism for your nightly Gay Cruising? 

How they laughed.

[Dionysus]

On 07/11/2022 at 22:20, Bolt said:

Possibly the closest thing in the UK is this:

 

 

 

Been there a few times, and the scale is amazing.

 

Took the family once, on the visitor tour thing, which busses you deep right into the workings.

 

Typically, they were singularly unimpressed!

 

Amazing place this is, tom scott did a video on it.