Power stations, transmission lines, terminal stations, transformers, substations, and all of rest of electrical engineering, from Victoria and further afield.
Power Systems
Backup generators and the 1982 New South Wales power crisis
June 9th, 2020
10 Comments
In Australia power generation has become another front in the culture wars, as backers of coal fired power stations fight the growth of renewable solar and wind power, blaming them for any minor power outage. But back in 1980s New South Wales far worse power restrictions were put into place – and failed coal fired […]
A history of synchronous condensers in Victoria
May 26th, 2020
19 Comments
In the past decade wind and solar generation has been displacing older coal fired power stations in Australia, with the stability of the electricity grid coming into question. One of the proposed solutions is something called a synchronous condenser – a technology that the State Electricity Commission of Victoria took advantage of fifty years ago. […]
High voltage power lines to nowhere
January 16th, 2018
25 Comments
On the outer eastern edge of Melbourne there is a curious piece of infrastructure – a high voltage power line to nowhere. So why was it built, and why is it currently sitting idle? Running south-west from Coldstream to Templestowe, via Chirnside Park, Wonga Park and Warrandyte, I was first tipped off to the existence […]
When high voltage transmission line cross over
January 2nd, 2018
11 Comments
Out on the western edge of Sydney I came across a curious sight – not one, but two sets of high voltage transmission lines crossing over each other. They were located either side of Luddenham Road in the semi-rural suburb of Orchard Hills. One set to the east, the other to the west. This is […]
Tours of the Snowy Mountains Scheme
March 15th, 2016
7 Comments
A few years back I went on a road trip between Melbourne and Sydney, and took a detour via the Great Divide to check out the Snowy Mountains Scheme, where I toured the Murray 1 power station. So what is there to see?
