Embankment rebuild completed at Barron Gorge Hydro Power Station, twelve months after Cyclone Jasper

Tom Metcalfe, the CEO of CleanCo, told ABC Radio Far North Queensland late last month that the rebuild of the earthen embankment at Kuranda Weir was nearing completion. The Kuranda Weir stores water from the Barron River and contains the intake for the 66MW Barron Gorge Hydro Power Station.

During Cyclone Jasper in December 2023, water levels in Kuranda Weir rose above 12 metres – the highest recorded since the power station was built in 1963 – damaging the power station’s water intake and destroying parts of the weir’s embankment.

As a result, both units at the power station were offline for approximately six months while a temporary cofferdam was constructed and the intake was restored.

Further works on a new permanent concrete dam wall are still ongoing, and have been designed to make the weir more resilient to extreme flooding.


About the Author

Dan Lee
Dan Lee first started at Global-Roam in June 2013. He has departed (and returned) for a couple of stints overseas in that time, but rejoined our team permanently in late 2019. More recently, Dan's focus has been on growing his understanding of the market and developing his analytical capabilities. He is currently enrolled in the Master of Sustainable Energy program at the University of Queensland.

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