Country Australia Phone +61 7 4160 9444 Construction cost 1.23 billion AUD | Status Operational Units operational 4 × 350 MW Construction began 1979 | |
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Commission date 1 Unit: May 19842 Unit: May 19853 Unit: February 19864 Unit: November 1986 Similar Wivenhoe Power Station, Mica Creek Power Station, Kogan Creek Power St, Boondooma Dam, Tinaroo Hydro Power St | ||
Protest at tarong power station in queensland
The Tarong Power Station is a coal fired power station located on a 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) site in Tarong in the South Burnett Region near the Burnett River and Nanango, in Queensland, Australia. The station has a maximum generating capacity of 1,400 megawatts, generated from four turbines.
Contents
- Protest at tarong power station in queensland
- Itb 100hd a trip from brisbane to tarong power station and back via brisbane valley highway
- Construction and design
- Emissions
- Demand reduction
- Return to service
- References
Coal is supplied via a conveyor from Meandu Mine, which is 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) away and is also owned by Stanwell.
Itb 100hd a trip from brisbane to tarong power station and back via brisbane valley highway
Construction and design
It was decided to build a new power station at Tarong in 1978, with work beginning in the following year. Initially it was expecting to be operating by October 1985 but this date was bought forward by 17 months to cover the expected growth in demand. 1 Unit was commissioned in May 1984, with 2 Unit following exactly 12 months later. 3 Unit was commissioned in February 1986, and finally 4 Unit was commissioned just 9 months later in November 1986. Thus the accelerated construction program included bringing forward the dates but also compressing the timeline.
The design included Queensland's first hyperbolic natural draught cooling towers which rise to 118 m. The power station has one chimney which is 20 m in diameter and rises 210 m. There are two control rooms. The total construction cost including water supply facilities was A$1,230 million.
Emissions
The power station is the site for a pilot project which is expected to reduce emissions by 1,000 tonnes per year by collected carbon dioxide from flue gases. The project will cost A$5 million and is being developed by CSIRO.
A second trial to capture greenhouse gas emissions is being conducted by MBD Energy. The technology being trialled collects carbon dioxide and pumps it into waste water where it synthesises oil-rich algae into edible seaweed products or oils.
Demand reduction
In October 2012, Stanwell announced plans to shut down two generating units for two years. The electricity market was oversupplied and wholesale electricity prices were relatively low. The scaling down of operations resulted in the loss of employment for some workers.
Return to service
Because of higher natural gas prices in 2014 power generators turned to coal-fired power. In July 2014, one of two units shut down in 2012 returned to service. The recommissioning task was a first for a turbine of that type and took 20,000 hours to complete. The second turbine is expected to be operating by 2015.