Karāpiro Power Station
| Karāpiro Power Station | |
|---|---|
Part of the Karāpiro Dam | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Location | Near Cambridge, Waikato |
| Coordinates | 37°55′26″S 175°32′21″E / 37.92389°S 175.53917°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 1940 |
| Opening date | May 1948 |
| Owner(s) | Mercury Energy |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Arch dam |
| Impounds | Waikato River |
| Height | 52.4 m (172 ft) |
| Length | 335 m (1,099 ft) |
| Width (crest) | 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) |
| Width (base) | 15.2 m (50 ft) |
| Spillways | Four |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Karapiro |
| Surface area | 7.7 km2 (3.0 sq mi) |
| Maximum water depth | 30.5 m (100 ft) |
| Type | Conventional |
| Hydraulic head | 30 m (98 ft) |
| Turbines | 3 × Kaplan |
| Installed capacity | 112.5 MW |
| Annual generation | 537 GWh |
.png){kind=link}
Karāpiro Power Station is a hydroelectric power station at Lake Karapiro in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the last of the eight hydroelectric power stations on the Waikato River. The power station is 30 kilometres (19 mi) south-east and upstream from the city of Hamilton and approximately 9 kilometres from Cambridge.
Karāpiro is a baseload power station, as it is required to operate to maintain minimum water flows in the Waikato River below the dam, even during low inflows to the catchment and during low electricity demand. The typical minimum flow requirement downstream of the station is 148 cubic metres per second. Only two turbines are required to keep the river flow at a reasonable level, with the third turbine being available for peak generation and during maintenance on either of the other turbines.
Like all of the hydroelectric power stations on the Waikato River, Karāpiro is operated by electricity generator Mercury Energy.