This was a permission visit way back in March of last year. A friend working with the electricity board knew someone working at the plant and we were lucky enough to get the guided tour on a quiet Saturday morning. It was very quiet while we were there as none of the turbines were online at the time.
A little bit of history: the station was designed and built by Siemens-Schuckert over the period 1925-1929 at great expense to the newly formed irish free state. When it was completed, it could produce enough electricity to meet the demands of the entire country, today it contributes to the supply for the local area in county clare and limerick. Check out the wikipedia page for more and a nice aerial shot for an overview of the site. Here are some pics from the day
View attachment 278820
this is the original control room for the station that is being preserved
View attachment 278821
the current control room - all the dials have gone square
View attachment 278822
turbine hall
View attachment 278823
hoists seen from below the turbine hall
View attachment 278824
underneath a turbine
View attachment 278825
handy diagram
View attachment 278826
machine pictured scoops up the debris caught in the filter
View attachment 278827
sluice gate controls
View attachment 278828
massive pipes feeding the turbines
View attachment 278829
the big concrete tower is an elevator for salmon to allow them to get back upstream
View attachment 278830
this was taken from the top of the salmon elevator. on the left hand side is a lock to allow boats to bypass the station although it is seldom used these days. Our guide said they've seen people diving off the top of the lock walls
The copper/blue blinds bit sticking out of the main building is the new control room
thanks for looking
A little bit of history: the station was designed and built by Siemens-Schuckert over the period 1925-1929 at great expense to the newly formed irish free state. When it was completed, it could produce enough electricity to meet the demands of the entire country, today it contributes to the supply for the local area in county clare and limerick. Check out the wikipedia page for more and a nice aerial shot for an overview of the site. Here are some pics from the day
View attachment 278820
this is the original control room for the station that is being preserved
View attachment 278821
the current control room - all the dials have gone square
View attachment 278822
turbine hall
View attachment 278823
hoists seen from below the turbine hall
View attachment 278824
underneath a turbine
View attachment 278825
handy diagram
View attachment 278826
machine pictured scoops up the debris caught in the filter
View attachment 278827
sluice gate controls
View attachment 278828
massive pipes feeding the turbines
View attachment 278829
the big concrete tower is an elevator for salmon to allow them to get back upstream
View attachment 278830
this was taken from the top of the salmon elevator. on the left hand side is a lock to allow boats to bypass the station although it is seldom used these days. Our guide said they've seen people diving off the top of the lock walls
The copper/blue blinds bit sticking out of the main building is the new control roomthanks for looking
