This week Aislinn paid a visit to a new exhibition by Limerick’s Hunt Museum that focuses on climate action. Gallery Director Jill Cousins explained how the revolutionary 1929 Shannon Hydroelectric Scheme could be used as inspiration for taking action in lowering our carbon output.
How was this exhibition created?
- The Hunt Museum made use of its access to communities to create an interactive and experiential exhibition and begin a conversation about climate action.
- The exhibition also involved companies who are creating an alternative energy supply, and arts who are interpreting science in their practice.
- The exhibition’s name comes from a painting by Seán Keating that documents the construction of the hydroelectric dam.
Why was the Shannon Hydroelectric Scheme so revolutionary?
- By international standards at the time, the Shannon Scheme was one of the largest civil and electrical engineering projects of its kind.
- The Scheme cost proposed a scheme that at over £5 million was almost one-fifth of the entire annual budget available to the Irish Free State.
- The scheme was designed by Thomas McLoughlin, a young Irish engineer, and it was built by the German company Siemens-Schuckert.
- Today, the Ardnacrusha power station has a generating capacity of over 85 megawatts and produces a significant portion of Ireland’s electricity.
- The scheme has had a lasting impact on the development of industry and infrastructure in Ireland.
For more see:
https://www.ice.org.uk/what-is-civil-engineering/what-do-civil-engineers-do/shannon-hydro-scheme
https://www.huntmuseum.com/
