Fuel: Water
Capacity: 292 MW
Commissioned: 1974
Turlough Hill, Ireland’s only pumped storage power station, is located around 60 km south of Dublin City in the Wicklow Mountains.
The station generates up to 292 MW during peak demand periods. It can go from standstill to full capacity in around 70 seconds by releasing water from the upper reservoir, allowing it to flow through four turbines into the lower reservoir.
During periods of lower demand, we pump water back to the upper reservoir, ready to be used again. This helps flatten the ‘demand curve’ for electricity over any given 24-hour period.
In 2004, ESB Turlough Hill became the Hydro Control Centre (HCC) for our entire hydro fleet. We recently carried out major refurbishment work in the plant to ensure we can continue operating reliably and sustainably into the future.
Click here for to view an animation on how electricity is generated in Turlough Hill.