AGL has completed stage one of a nearly $50 million upgrade project at the Clover Power Station at Mount Beauty to enable increased water flow and power generation capacity.

Stage one is the biggest of the two stage upgrade and included installing a new turbine, generator, modern control and high voltage systems, new main inlet valves, and a higher tail bay weir wall and supporting structure.

Stage two of the works are well advanced and include a new turbine and generator for the second unit.

AGL senior project manager for Clover modernisation, Nigel Smith, said the upgrade will increase Clover’s capacity from 29 MW to around 35 MW, provide a 14 MW uplift across the Kiewa Scheme, and increase the West Kiewa capacity from 68 MW to 76 MW.

“This was a complex job in tough weather conditions, and I’m incredibly proud of the team for successfully delivering the first stage of this upgrade at Clover Power Station," Mr Smith said.

“Through heat, cold and work at height, our staff and predominantly local contractors showed real commitment to deliver this safely and help lift the station’s flow rate and generation capacity.”

This project is part of AGL’s strategy to invest in and modernise existing assets to support a reliable, flexible energy system as Australia’s energy mix continues to evolve.

First announced by AGL in July 2022, the upgrade to the Mount Beauty site is installing the latest technologies at the 81-year-old power station, setting it up for another 80 years of operations as part of Victoria’s largest hydro-electric scheme.

Over the past four years, more than 300 predominantly local workers have been deployed to the site to upgrade the ageing infrastructure of the power station.

The upgrade will debottleneck the scheme by increasing the water flow through the power station from 120 megalitres per hour (ML/h) to 140ML/h and in turn increase the overall capacity of the Kiewa Scheme by 14 MW.

The Kiewa Scheme runs between Falls Creek and Mount Beauty and includes Makay Creek, Bogong, Clover and West Kiewa power stations and will have total capacity of over 400 MW upon completion of the project.