Munmorah Power Station

Munmorah Power Station

Munmorah Power Station
Country Australia
Location near Doyalson, Lake Munmorah, New South Wales
Coordinates 33°12′42.41″S 151°32′31.78″E / 33.2117806°S 151.5421611°E / -33.2117806; 151.5421611Coordinates: 33°12′42.41″S 151°32′31.78″E / 33.2117806°S 151.5421611°E / -33.2117806; 151.5421611
Status Decommissioned
Commission date 1967
Decommission date 2012
Owner(s) Delta Electricity
Thermal power station
Primary fuel Bituminous coal
Type Steam Turbine
Power generation
Units operational 350 MW
Nameplate capacity 1400 MW

Munmorah Power Station was a coal fired electricity power station with four 350 MW English Electric steam driven turbo-alternators for a combined capacity of 1,400 MW. The station was located near Doyalson, on the shores of Lake Munmorah, New South Wales, Australia and was owned and operated by Delta Electricity, a company owned by the New South Wales Government.

In July 2012 the coal-fired generators were permanently retired from service. However, the nearby gas-fired Colongra power station, which was commissioned in 2009, remains in operation.

History and facilities

The station was constructed with 4 English Electric 350 MW turbo-alternators. Munmorah had a total capacity of 1,400 MW. Steam was supplied at a pressure of 2,500 psi and a temperature of 460 °C. One unit was completed in 1967, another in 1968, and the remaining two in 1969. Units 3 and 4 had fabric filters fitted in the 1980s, and this reduced load to 320 MW each. Units 1 and 2 were relegated to emergency use from 1992.

Munmorah drew salt water from Lake Munmorah, part of the Tuggerah Lakes, for condenser cooling. The coal for Munmorah came from underground mines, MM State mine and Newvale 2, and also from Vales Point coal storage via a series of conveyor belts.

In September 2007, the New South Wales State Government announced the commencement of a trial of 'clean coal' technology at Munmorah Power Station. The A$5 million trial by the CSIRO and Delta Electricity was part of a larger A$150 million trial jointly funded by the coal companies.[1]

On 15 October 2007, 15 Greenpeace activists entered the power station property and switched off one of the conveyor belts as a protest against the climate change policies of the Liberal Party of Australia and Australian Labor Party in the run up to the 2007 federal election.[2]

In 2012 Carbon Monitoring for Action estimated the power station emitted 4.246 million tonnes of greenhouse gases as a result of burning coal.[3]

Delta Electricity announced on 3 July 2012 the closure of Munmorah power station after 45 years of operation due to decreasing energy demand. Units 3 and 4 had been maintained on standby but have not been in production since August 2010. Munmorah was disconnected from the grid in May 2014 and completely de-commissioned. Plans are underway to demolish the station and its out-buildings and sell off the 500 acres of surrounding land for housing. In December 2015 a survey of the power station precinct found that pollutants had entered the water table and made the area unsuitable for housing.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wilkinson, Marian (27 September 2007). "NSW trial for clean power from coal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  2. ↑ Welch, Dylan (15 November 2007). "Activists seize coal plant". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
  3. ↑ "Plant overview: Munmorah". Carbon Monitoring for Action. Center for Global Development. 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
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