An underground power station is a type of hydroelectric power station constructed by excavating the major components (e.g. machine hall, penstocks, and tailrace) from rock, rather than the more common surface-based construction methods.
Often underground power stations form part of pumped storage hydroelectricity schemes, whose basic function is to level load: they use cheap or surplus off-peak power to pump water from a lower lake to an upper lake, then, during peak periods (when electricity prices are often high), the power station generates power from the water held in the upper lake.
Read more about Underground Power Station: Notable Examples
Famous quotes containing the words underground, power and/or station:
“... in a history of spiritual rupture, a social compact built on fantasy and collective secrets, poetry becomes more necessary than ever: it keeps the underground aquifers flowing; it is the liquid voice that can wear through stone.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)
“People ask me: Why do you write about food, and eating, and drinking? Why dont you write about the struggle for power and security, and about love, the way the others do?... The easiest answer is to say that, like most other humans, I am hungry.”
—M.F.K. Fisher (19081992)
“To act the part of a true friend requires more conscientious feeling than to fill with credit and complacency any other station or capacity in social life.”
—Sarah Ellis (18121872)