Tallawarra Power Station, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Tallawarra Power Station is a 435 MW combined cycle
natural gas
power station
in the city of Wollongong
, New South Wales
, Australia
. Owned and operated by TRUenergy
, the station is the first of its type in New South Wales and produces electricity for the state during periods of high demand. It is located on the western shore of Lake Illawarra
in the suburb of Yallah
.
The station comprises a 260 MW gas turbine and a 160 MW steam turbine unit and has a total capacity of 435 MW. It uses many of the previous power station's structures including the cooling system channels from Lake Illawarra. The power station is connected to the state grid via a 132 kV switching station maintained by Integral Energy
.
TRUenergy has also indicated that an additional power plant is being considered for the site, to be known as Tallawarra B.
fired power station beginning in 1954 and reaching full operation by 1961. At its peak, it had a capacity output of 320 MW from 6 coal burning units. The station closed in 1989, and stood abandoned by the foreshore of Lake Illawarra. It was progressively demolished to ground level over a ten-year period.
In early 2003 the site was sold by Pacific Power
to TRUenergy (then known as TXU
) and construction of the gas powered combined cycle plant began in November 2006. It was opened by the NSW Premier Nathan Rees
on 18 March 2009.
Combined cycle
In electric power generation a combined cycle is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem off the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy, which in turn usually drives electrical generators...
natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
in the city of Wollongong
Wollongong, New South Wales
Wollongong is a seaside city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 82 kilometres south of Sydney...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Owned and operated by TRUenergy
TRUenergy
TRUenergy is an energy company headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Founded in 1995 as a retailer and generator of electricity, and a retailer of natural gas, the company is formed from the combination of retail and generation assets purchased by Hong Kong-based CLP from Singapore Power...
, the station is the first of its type in New South Wales and produces electricity for the state during periods of high demand. It is located on the western shore of Lake Illawarra
Lake Illawarra
Lake Illawarra is a large coastal lagoon located in the city of Wollongong about 100 km south of Sydney, New South Wales.The lake receives runoff from the Illawarra escarpment through Macquarie Rivulet and Mullet Creek, and has a narrow tidal entrance to the sea at Windang...
in the suburb of Yallah
Yallah, New South Wales
Yallah is a southern suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, located on the western shore of Lake Illawarra. It contains a mixture of rural, commercial and light industrial areas and is home to the Tallawarra Power Station....
.
The station comprises a 260 MW gas turbine and a 160 MW steam turbine unit and has a total capacity of 435 MW. It uses many of the previous power station's structures including the cooling system channels from Lake Illawarra. The power station is connected to the state grid via a 132 kV switching station maintained by Integral Energy
Integral Energy
Integral Energy is the second largest state-owned energy corporation in New South Wales, incorporated under the Energy Services Corporations Act 1995 from a merger between Prospect Electricity and Illawarra Electricity...
.
TRUenergy has also indicated that an additional power plant is being considered for the site, to be known as Tallawarra B.
History
Tallawarra originally operated as a coalCoal
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...
fired power station beginning in 1954 and reaching full operation by 1961. At its peak, it had a capacity output of 320 MW from 6 coal burning units. The station closed in 1989, and stood abandoned by the foreshore of Lake Illawarra. It was progressively demolished to ground level over a ten-year period.
In early 2003 the site was sold by Pacific Power
Pacific Power
Pacific Power may refer to:*Pacific Power, an electric power company in the north-western United States owned by PacifiCorp*Pacific Power , a state owned power generation company in the state of New South Wales, Australia which operated from 1995 to 2003...
to TRUenergy (then known as TXU
TXU
Energy Future Holdings Corporation is an electric utility company headquartered in Energy Plaza in Downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. The company was known as TXU until its $45 billion leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Texas Pacific Group and Goldman Sachs...
) and construction of the gas powered combined cycle plant began in November 2006. It was opened by the NSW Premier Nathan Rees
Nathan Rees
Nathan Rees MP, , an Australian politician, was the 41st Premier of New South Wales and parliamentary leader of the New South Wales division of the Australian Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009...
on 18 March 2009.