Muja Power Station, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Collie, Western Australia
-External links:*...
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. It has eight coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
powered steam turbines that together generate
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
a total capacity of 854 MW of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
. The coal is mined in the nearby Collie Sub-basin
Collie Sub-basin
The Collie Sub-basin is a pocket of Permian sedimentary rocks with an area of 225 km², enclosed within much older Archean rocks of the Yilgarn Craton, near the town of Collie in southwestern Western Australia., Once considered a unique basin, this area, along with the smaller Wilga and Boyup...
.
The station was commissioned on 21 April 1966. It has two 200 MW units and two 227 MW units (Stage C,D). The four smallest and least efficient units, Stages A and B, were closed in April 2007. In June 2008 it was announced that the older generator units would be recommissioned, due to a state wide natural gas shortage
2008 Western Australian gas crisis
The Western Australian gas crisis was a major disruption to natural gas supply in Western Australia, caused by the rupture of a corroded pipeline and subsequent explosion at a processing plant on Varanus Island, off the state's north west coast on 3 June 2008...
.
According to the National Pollutant Inventory
National pollutant inventory
National Pollutant Inventory or NPI is an Australian pollution database of emissions managed by the Australian Government on behalf of the Australian States and Territories...
(NPI), Muja Power Station is one of the biggest emitters of air pollution
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
in Australia, including high emissions of beryllium
Beryllium
Beryllium is the chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a divalent element which occurs naturally only in combination with other elements in minerals. Notable gemstones which contain beryllium include beryl and chrysoberyl...
, fluoride
Fluoride
Fluoride is the anion F−, the reduced form of fluorine when as an ion and when bonded to another element. Both organofluorine compounds and inorganic fluorine containing compounds are called fluorides. Fluoride, like other halides, is a monovalent ion . Its compounds often have properties that are...
and particulate matter. This is based on data gathered in the 2006-2007 reporting year. With the closure of the oldest and least efficient units it is likely that air emissions have dropped significantly.
Carbon Monitoring for Action
Carbon Monitoring for Action
Carbon Monitoring For Action is a website that contains a searchable database that estimates the carbon emissions of power plants and power companies around the world. Launched in November, 2007, its database is updated quarterly. It is produced and financed by the Center for Global Development....
estimates this power station emits 5.56 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year as a result of burning coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
.
External links
- Verve EnergyVerve EnergyVerve Energy is a Western Australian Government owned corporation responsible for operating the state's electricity generators on the State's South West Interconnected System...
page on Muja Power Station - Muja Power Station in the NPI