Waddamana Power Stations

Waddamana Hydro-Electric power station was the first hydro-electric power plant ever operated by the Tasmanian Hydro-Electric Department opened in 1916.

Contents 1 Waddamana Hydro-Electric Power Station 2 Waddamana B 3 Operation and shutdown The privately owned Tasmanian Hydro-Electric Power and Metallurgical Co. Ltd. (HEPMCo) first took a serious interest in generating hydro-electric power from one of Tasmania's highland rivers in late 1909, to provide power for James Hyndes Gillies' newly patented electrolytic process for zinc refining, and a "carbide" smelter to be constructed near Snug. They resolved to construct a hydro-electric power plant in the valley of the Ouse River, above the town that bears that name. Water was to be provided by a small dam on the great lake at Miena, which would then divert water down the steep drop using a woodstave pipeline and a flume. Construction began in earnest in 1910.