{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox dam | name = Clyde Dam | image = Clydedam.jpg | image_caption = Clyde Dam from the east, looking west | name_official = | location = [[Clyde, New Zealand|Clyde]], [[Otago]], New Zealand | location_map = New Zealand | location_map_caption = | location_map_size = | coordinates = {{coord|45.179314|S|169.306955|E|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | dam_crosses = [[Clutha River]] | dam_type = [[Concrete gravity dam]] | dam_length = {{convert|490|m|abbr=on}} | dam_height = {{convert|100|m|abbr=on}} | dam_width_base = {{convert|70|m|abbr=on}} | dam_width_crest = {{convert|10|m|abbr=on}} | dam_volume = | spillway_type = | spillway_capacity = | construction_began = | opening = | cost = | owner = | res_name = [[Lake Dunstan]] | res_capacity_total = | res_catchment = | res_surface = {{convert|26|km2|abbr=on}} | res_max_depth = | plant_operator = [[Contact Energy]] | plant_turbines = 4× {{convert|108|MW|abbr=on}} [[Francis turbine]]s | plant_capacity = 464 MW<ref name="Contact">[http://www.contactenergy.co.nz/web/pdf/environmental/Hydro_brochure.pdf Hydroelectricity: turning water into power] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524013207/http://www.contactenergy.co.nz/web/pdf/environmental/Hydro_brochure.pdf |date=2010-05-24 }}, Contact Energy.</ref> | plant_annual_gen = 2,100 GWh | plant_commission = 1992 | plant_decommission = | website = | extra = }} The '''Clyde Dam''', New Zealand's second-largest [[hydroelectric dam]],{{refn|group=Note|[[List of power stations in New Zealand]]}} is built on the [[Clutha River / Mata-Au]] near the town of [[Clyde, New Zealand|Clyde]]. It is owned and operated by [[Contact Energy]].
==History== [[Image:Clyde Dam Under Construction.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Clyde Dam under construction circa 1986]] There was considerable controversy when the dam was planned because it would flood many houses and orchards upstream at [[Cromwell, New Zealand|Cromwell]],<ref name="ODT_Reflections">{{cite web|url=https://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/magazine/41410/reflections-lake-dunstan|title=Reflections on Lake Dunstan|last=Gilchrist|first=Shane |date=31 January 2009|publisher=[[Otago Daily Times]] |access-date=2009-03-18}}</ref> as well as the scenic [[Cromwell Gorge]], which was a highlight of the then young but growing New Zealand [[tourism]] industry. Construction also required replacement of a stretch of highway<ref>Dai Redshaw (1997). [http://nzsm.webcentre.co.nz/article963.htm Sustainable Energy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016065843/http://nzsm.webcentre.co.nz/article963.htm |date=2008-10-16 }}, ''New Zealand Science Monthly'', March 1997.</ref> and the closure of the [[Otago Central Railway]] beyond Clyde, though materials for the dam would provide significant traffic for the rest of the line which was experiencing a drop in freight tonnage. To mitigate these problems, the [[Third Labour Government of New Zealand|Kirk Labour]] government decided a low dam should be built at Clyde. This decision was overturned by the following [[Third National Government of New Zealand|National government]], who preferred a high dam.<ref name=Kellow/>
There was also debate about whether the dam was needed. National's support for a controversial aluminium smelter at [[Aramoana]], another of [[Prime Minister of New Zealand|Prime Minister]] Sir [[Robert Muldoon]]'s [[Think Big]] projects of the late 1970s and early 1980s, was one justification propounded for the dam.<ref name=Kellow>{{cite book |author=Aynsley John Kellow |title=Transforming power: the politics of electricity planning |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-47122-0 |year=1996}}</ref> An initial grant of water rights for the dam was overturned by the High Court following an appeal by landowners. National overturned this decision, after bargaining for the support of [[Social Credit Party (New Zealand)|Social Credit]] (who had initially opposed a high dam), in the Clutha Development (Clyde Dam) Empowering Act 1982.<ref name="ODT_Reflections"/><ref name=Kellow/> The Act was later repealed by the following National government on 1 October 1991, when it was superseded by the [[Resource Management Act 1991]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1991/0069/latest/contents |title= Resource Management Act 1991 No 69 - New Zealand Legislation |access-date= 30 December 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120404161701/http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1991/0069/latest/contents |archive-date= 4 April 2012 |url-status= dead }}</ref>
[[File:Clyde Dam expansion joint, Otago, NZ.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Expansion joint]] The dam was constructed between 1982 and 1993. Filling it was done in four controlled stages beginning in April 1992, and completed the following year, creating [[Lake Dunstan]].<ref name="ODT_Reflections"/> The power station has a capacity of four 120 [[Volt-ampere|MVA]] (116 [[megawatts|MW]]) [[Francis turbine]]s (for a total of 464 MW), but was only allowed to run 432 MW due to resource consent conditions. The dam was built with two additional penstocks, allowing additional turbines to be installed in future.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cigreauckland2017.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Clyde-Dam-Fact-Sheet.pdf |title=Clyde Dam factsheet |publisher=Contact Energy |access-date=26 November 2021 |archive-date=27 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127025226/http://cigreauckland2017.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Clyde-Dam-Fact-Sheet.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The resource consent was changed in 2005 to allow the full 464 MW to be produced.
During construction, the adjacent rock was discovered to be [[Fracture (geology)|microfracture]]d, because of an [[earthquake]] [[Fault (geology)|fault]] running underneath the dam site. The dam was redesigned, losing a sluice channel and cutting its generation capacity from 612 MW to 464 MW. A slip joint was built into the dam to accommodate 1–2 metres of potential ground movement,<ref>[http://shake.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/home-new/projects/2007/pdf/Ch07-provisioned-designs.pdf Fault Provisioned Design Examples] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722080222/http://shake.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/home-new/projects/2007/pdf/Ch07-provisioned-designs.pdf |date=2011-07-22 }}, Chapter 7 in ''[http://shake.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/home-new/projects/2007/contents.html Key Points for Rational Design for Civil-Infrastructures near Seismic Faults Reflecting Soil-Structure Interaction Features] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722080359/http://shake.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/home-new/projects/2007/contents.html |date=2011-07-22 }}'', Japan Society for Promoting Science, 2007.</ref><ref>Eileen McSaveney. [http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/earthquakes/4 Earthquakes - Building for earthquake resistance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310115749/http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/earthquakes/4 |date=2011-03-10 }}, ''Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand''. Updated 2 March 2009.</ref> and a large amount of slurry [[cement]] was pumped into the rock to stop water leaks. This additional work was one reason for a major project cost overrun, which made the dam the most expensive in New Zealand. The other areas of overrun were due to stabilisation of landslides in the Cromwell Gorge.<ref>Michael J. Crozier. [http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/landslides/4 Landslides - People and landslides], ''Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand''. Updated 2 March 2009.</ref><ref>[[Vicki Hyde]] (1990). [https://web.archive.org/web/20071031153152/http://nzsm.webcentre.co.nz/article1473.htm Slip Sliding Away], ''New Zealand Science Monthly'', November 1990 (Via Archive.org).</ref> There are over 18 km of tunnels throughout the gorge for draining purposes. Because of all this extra work it overran the budget by nearly an extra 50% and delayed the filling of Lake Dunstan by a few years.
Maintenance workers accidentally activated fire alarms in the dam on 15 December 2008. The alarms triggered the release of a large bank of {{co2}} cylinders at the generators, flooding the equipment with the gas. Extractor fans to clear the {{co2}} then activated, and firefighters with breathing apparatus and gas detectors checked through the dam to ensure it had cleared.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.odt.co.nz/the-regions/central-otago/36210/gas-cylinders-inadvertently-activated-clyde-dam|title=Gas cylinders inadvertently activated at Clyde dam|last=Brown|first=Diane |date=16 December 2008|publisher=[[Otago Daily Times]] |access-date=2008-12-15}}</ref>
== Gallery == <gallery mode="packed" heights="200"> Clyde Dam NZ7 3233 (46970366632).jpg Clyde Dam NZ7 3242 (46108491915).jpg Clyde Dam in September 2022, Otago, NZ.jpg </gallery>
==Trivia== The Clyde Dam, while still under construction, was used for on-location filming in the 1985 movie ''[[Shaker Run]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090006/|title=Shaker Run|publisher=IMDB}}</ref>
== See also == {{stack|{{Portal|New Zealand|Water|Renewable energy}}}} * [[Hydroelectric power in New Zealand]] * [[List of power stations in New Zealand]] * [[Electricity sector in New Zealand]]
== Notes == {{reflist|group=Note}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{cite thesis |type=MA |last= Bagge |first= Michael |title= Dams or Democracy? The Clyde Dam Controversy 1968-1982 |publisher= University of Otago |place= Dunedin |year= 2002 }} *{{cite thesis |type=MA |last= Findlay |first= Angela |title= 'Vive Aramoana': the Save Aramoana Campaign, 1974-1983 |publisher= University of Otago |place= Dunedin |year= 2004 |url= https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10523/5479/FindlayAngela2004MA.pdf}} *{{cite book |last= Martin |first= John E. |title= People, Politics and Power Stations |location= Wellington |publisher= Bridget Williams Books Ltd and Electricity Corporation of New Zealand |year= 1991 |isbn= 0-908912-16-1}} *Ministry of Works and Development. (1987). ''[[iarchive:clyde-dam-clutha-power/|Clyde dam : Clutha power]]''. *{{cite book |last1= Reeves |first1= Trevor |last2= Wolfe |first2= Judith |title= An Abuse of Power: The Story of the Clyde Dam |location= Dunedin | publisher= Square One Press |year= 1994 |isbn= 0-908562-12-8}} *{{cite book |last= Sheridan |first= Marion |title= Dam Dwellers – End of an Era |location= Twizel |publisher= Sheridan Press |year= 1995 |isbn = 0-473-03402-6}}
==External links== {{commons category}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20150114102507/http://www2.learnz.org.nz/vft-primers/2006/hydro62.pdf LEARNZ photos showing various stages of the construction] *[https://savetheclutha.blogspot.com/2009/02/clutha-hydro-timeline.html Timeline of Clutha hydroelectric development]
{{clutha}}
[[Category:Dams in New Zealand]] [[Category:Hydroelectric power stations in New Zealand]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Otago]] [[Category:Clutha River]] [[Category:Dams completed in 1993]]