Bell Bay Power Station

Last updated

Bell Bay Power Station
BellBayPowerStation.jpg
Bell Bay Power Station
CountryAustralia
Location Bell Bay, Tasmania
Coordinates 41°8′31″S146°54′9″E / 41.14194°S 146.90250°E / -41.14194; 146.90250
Status Peak demand
Commission date 1971
Decommission date2009
Owner Hydro Tasmania
Thermal power station
Primary fuel Natural gas
Turbine technology2 steam turbines
Power generation
Units operational0
Nameplate capacity 345 megawatts (463,000 hp)

The Bell Bay Power Station was a power station located in Bell Bay, on the Tamar River, Tasmania, Australia, adjacent to the Tamar Valley Power Station, with which it was often confused. It was commissioned between 1971 and 1974 as an oil fired thermal power station, and was converted to natural gas in 2003, [1] after the commissioning of the Tasmanian Gas Pipeline, a submarine gas pipeline which transports natural gas from Longford, Victoria, under Bass Strait, to Bell Bay, Tasmania. [2] As the power station's primary role was to provide system security in the event of drought for Tasmania's predominantly hydro-electric based generation system it only was rarely called on to operate, resulting in intervals of five to eight years between periods of significant use. After the commissioning of Basslink in 2006, the power station was decommissioned in 2009.

Contents

At the time of decommissioning, it had two 120 megawatts (160,000 hp) gas fired steam turbines and three 35 megawatts (47,000 hp) gas turbines, giving a total capacity of 345 megawatts (463,000 hp) of electricity. After the Bell Bay Power Station was decommissioned, the three smaller units became part of the Tamar Valley Power Station.

History

In response to a prolonged dry period in Tasmania in 1967 and 1968, the Hydro Electric Commission sought to diversify Tasmania's electricity supply away from hydroelectricity. [1] [3] This resulted in the first unit of the Bell Bay Power Station being commissioned in 1971: a single 120 megawatts (160,000 hp) oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox, single drum, reheat boiler, supplying steam to a CA Parsons & Company steam turbine with hydrogen cooled generator (unit one). [4] In 1974, a second near identical unit followed (unit two). Cooling water was via a once-through cooling system, drawing water directly from the Tamar River. Three 15,000 tonnes (17,000 tons) capacity fuel oil tanks supplied the 600 tonnes (660 tons) of fuel oil per day required to run each of the steam sets. Fuel oil was delivered by tank ship and discharged across a dedicated oil jetty at the site. The 110-metre (360 ft) tall stack is a distinctive feature in the area.

The Tasmanian Gas Pipeline, a submarine gas pipeline which transports natural gas from the Esso natural gas plant at Longford, Victoria, under Bass Strait, to Bell Bay, Tasmania, was commissioned in 2002. [2] In 2003, unit one was converted from fuel oil to natural gas, [1] and Unit two was converted in 2004.

In 2006, three Pratt & Whitney FT8 Twin Pac open cycle gas turbine units were acquired from an existing facility in the US. These open cycle units were installed at a site adjacent to the original Bell Bay Power Station.

The Basslink electricity interconnector, which linked the electricity grids of mainland Australia and Tasmania from April 2006, secured Tasmania from reliance on hydro-electric based generation in the event of drought.

Ownership

Bell Bay Power Station was owned by Hydro Tasmania.

In March 2007, Alinta agreed to buy the peaking plant site from Hydro Tasmania for $75 million, which included gas pipeline capacity agreements. This would complement its proposed 200 MW combined cycle Tamar Valley Power Station, which was due for completion in early 2009, and which was to be located somewhere in the Bell Bay precinct. [5]

Aurora Energy acquired the ex Alinta Energy combined cycle power station project and the peaking plant from Babcock & Brown Power in September 2008. [6] The Tasmanian Government included a possible transfer of the existing Bell Bay Power Station to Aurora Energy as part of the acquisition. The transfer of the existing two thermal units did not proceed. Hydro Tasmania remained the owner and the station is currently available for sale whole or as parts. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power station</span> Facility generating electric power

A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combined cycle power plant</span> Assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat

A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant, which is a kind of gas-fired power plant. The same principle is also used for marine propulsion, where it is called a combined gas and steam (COGAS) plant. Combining two or more thermodynamic cycles improves overall efficiency, which reduces fuel costs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydro Tasmania</span> Government hydro electricity provider in Tasmania, Australia

Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC) or simply The Hydro, is the trading name of the Hydro-Electric Corporation, a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the main electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia. The Hydro was originally oriented towards hydro-electricity, due to Tasmania's dramatic topography and relatively high rainfall in the central and western parts of the state. Today, Hydro Tasmania operates thirty hydro-electric and one gas power station, and is a joint owner in three wind farms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peaking power plant</span> Reserved for high demand times

Peaking power plants, also known as peaker plants, and occasionally just "peakers", are power plants that generally run only when there is a high demand, known as peak demand, for electricity. Because they supply power only occasionally, the power supplied commands a much higher price per kilowatt hour than base load power. Peak load power plants are dispatched in combination with base load power plants, which supply a dependable and consistent amount of electricity, to meet the minimum demand.

The Lake Margaret Power Stations comprise two hydroelectric power stations located in Western Tasmania, Australia. The power stations are part of the King – Yolande Power Scheme and are owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania. Officially the Upper Lake Margaret Power Station, a conventional hydroelectric power station, and the Lower Lake Margaret Power Station, a mini-hydroelectric power station, the stations are generally collectively referred to in the singular format as the Lake Margaret Power Station. The stations are located approximately 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) apart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waddamana Power Stations</span> Hydro-electric power plant in Tasmania

Waddamana Hydro-Electric power station was the first hydro-electric power plant ever operated by the Tasmanian Hydro-Electric Department, opened in 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meadowbank Power Station</span> Power station in Tasmania, Australia

The Meadowbank Power Station is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is situated on the Lower River Derwent catchment and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Power Station</span> Power station in Tasmania, Australia

The Gordon Power Station is the largest conventional hydroelectric power station in Tasmania, Australia; located in the South West region of the state. The power station is situated on Gordon River. Water from Lake Gordon descends 183 metres (600 ft) underground past the Gordon Dam and into the power station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevallyn Power Station</span> Dam in Northern Midlands Tasmania

The Trevallyn Power Station is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station located in the northern Midlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is situated on the Great Lake and South Esk catchment and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tallawarra Power Station</span>

Tallawarra Power Station is a 435-megawatt (583,000 hp) combined cycle natural gas power station in Yallah, New South Wales, Australia. Owned and operated by EnergyAustralia, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grain Power Station</span> Power station in Kent, England

Grain Power Station is a 1,275 megawatts (1,710,000 hp) operational CCGT power station in Kent, England, owned by Uniper. It was also the name of an oil-fired, now demolished, 1,320MW power station in operation from 1979 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Plymouth Power Station</span> Closed power station in New Zealand

The New Plymouth Power Station (NPPS) was a 600 MW thermal power station at New Plymouth, New Zealand, that operated from 1974 to 2008. Located at Port Taranaki, it was dual fuelled on natural gas and fuel oil. Constructed at a time of major hydro and HV transmission developments, it was New Zealand's first big thermal power station planned for continuous baseload operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Dam</span> Dam in South West Tasmania, Australia

The Gordon Dam, also known as the Gordon River Dam, is a major gated double curvature concrete arch dam with a controlled spillway across the Gordon River, located in Southwest National Park, Tasmania, Australia. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Gordon.

Tamar Valley Power Station is a $230 million natural gas-fired power station located in Bell Bay in the Tamar Valley, Tasmania. It is owned by Hydro Tasmania, and is immediately adjacent to the decommissioned Bell Bay Power Station, which is also owned by Hydro Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newman Power Station</span> Power station in Newman, Western Australia

Newman Power Station is a power station in Newman, Western Australia, located about 1,186 kilometres (737 mi) north of Perth, and 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of the Tropic of Capricorn. It is a 178-megawatt (239,000 hp) natural-gas-fired power station servicing BHP's isolated grid. Newman currently provides 100% of the power requirement of the islanded grid which supplies electricity to the Area C mine operated by BHP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalia Power Station</span>

The Dalia power station is a power station located approximately 2 km southeast of Kfar Menahem, Israel, nearby Tel Tzafit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ubungo I Thermal Power Station</span>

Ubungo I Thermal Power Station, also known as the Ubungo Power Plant, is a natural gas-fueled power plant located in Ubungo of Ubungo District in Dar es Salaam Region of Tanzania. It began commercial operations on 30 July 2008 with an installed capacity of 110 megawatts (150,000 hp).

The 2016 Tasmanian energy crisis was an ongoing energy storage situation in the state of Tasmania, Australia in 2016. Two years of high volumes of energy exported to Victoria via the Basslink HVDC cable, followed by low rainfall, and a fault which rendered the cable inoperable, resulted in record low storage levels in Tasmania's hydro-electric system. This resulted in a number of contingency plans to be enacted by Hydro Tasmania and the Hodgman Government.

Hallett Power Station is located in Canowie, in the Mid North of South Australia, located about 210 kilometres (130 mi) north of Adelaide. It was commissioned in 2001 and opened in 2002. It was built by AGL Energy, but was sold in 2007, and is currently operated by EnergyAustralia. It has capacity of approximately 200 megawatts (270,000 hp), and connects to the National Electricity Grid. It contains 12 gas turbine generators.

Tasmania, as an advanced economy with a globally high standard of living, uses a great deal of energy. Distinctive features of energy use in Tasmania include the high fraction of hydroelectricity usage, the absence of coal-fired electrical generation, relatively light usage of natural gas, particularly for domestic use, and a wide use of domestic wood-burning stoves. Energy production through hydroelectricity has been politically contentious, and conflicts over Tasmanian hydroelectric projects were integral to the formation of Green parties in Australia and across the world.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Gas generation". Hydro Tasmania . Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 Home Tasmanian Gas Pipeline
  3. "Ministerial Statement on Energy Security". www.premier.tas.gov.au. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  4. The Hydro after 100 Years EHA Magazine March 2015 page 19
  5. "Alinta buys Tasmanian plant". Sydney Morning Herald. 24 March 2007.
  6. Tas network not in Powerco sell off ABC News 4 November 2008
  7. "Power plant for sale - whole or part of plant". Hydro Tasmania. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2014.