Pemberton hydro station
The Pemberton hydro station started life as a private company called the Pemberton Power Supply Company in the early 1920s.
The company built a timber pipeline from karri forest boards that took water from the Pemberton Weir to a turbine station 450 metres away.
This electricity source served the needs of the whole town during the winter season, with boilers and diesel engines at the timber mill supplying power during the summer period.
As the Western Power-owned South West Integrated Supply extended throughout the region, it became easier to connect the town of Pemberton to the grid and use the hydro as supplementary supply.
When a large storm caused several karri trees to smash through the pipeline in the early 1950s the hydro station was decommissioned.
In the late 1990s it was proposed that a replica hydro station be reconstructed to act as a demonstration of the industrial heritage of the region.
The South West Development Commission has helped oversee the construction of a replica hydro station and pipeline.
This began operation in the spring of 2006 and is operating again this year. It currently generates enough power for 60-80 homes daily and produces no carbon emissions.
The new hydro station operates under the management of a local committee, the Pemberton Hydro Energy Association.
Profit accrued for the hydro station’s operations will be put into the Future of Pemberton community fund, managed under the auspices of the Western Australian Community Foundation.
As these funds build up they will be made available to support the not for profit community projects in the Pemberton region.
An interpretive presentation is now being prepared so that the hydro station can be included in local tourist tours and to raise environmental awareness through educational material.