Energy Australia to Invest $1.4 Billion in Two Natural Gas Power Plants in Queensland

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Perth, Australia)--Energy Australia Limited (Victoria, Australia) is waiting for the final board decision to proceed with construction of the 500-megawatt (MW) Blackstone project, which will be built in the Swanbank-New Chum Enterprise Park, an existing 500-hectare industrial park near Ipswich, Queensland. Development approvals for the project were granted recently, and the company is expecting the financial closure early 2013.

Energy Australia will build the Blackstone power plant using open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) technology that will feature two 250-MW gas turbines to produce 500 MW of electricity, which is enough to feed 10% of Queensland's electricity needs. The new technology will improve the air quality and lower the greenhouse gas emissions by 85%, compared to the existing power plant at Swanbank B. Gas for the power station will be supplied by a new gas pipeline and storage facility that will be built by Energy Australia. The power plant will be built as a simple-cycle unit initially, and will be converted to a combined-cycle power station in later stages.

Energy Australia intends to expand the capacity of the power plant by adding two new turbines, to produce an additional 1,000 MW of electricity and increase the total capacity of the plant up to 1,500 MW. The expansion project is subject to the market conditions and energy requirements in Queensland at the time of the project development. Energy Australia will be spending $350 million for the first stage alone and up to $1 billion for the expansion project.

Brian Restall, Project Manager at Energy Australia, stated that the company is currently performing the tender process to finalize all the necessary subcontractors for the project. Once the contractors are awarded and the technology is chosen, power plant construction will begin in mid-2013.

The 500-MW Blackstone project will create 400 construction jobs and 30 to 50 full-time jobs when the power station is operational. Construction of the power plant is slightly delayed due to some capital issues; however, Brain Restall confirmed that "the project remains on track, with the proposed timeframe to make an investment decision and begin the construction in the first half of 2013."

Industrial Info is tracking several other power plants currently owned and operated by Energy Australia, which includes the 1,400-MW Yallourn power station in Victoria; the 435-MW Tallawarra combined-cycle, gas-fired generation plant in New South Wales; and the 230-MW Hallett gas-fired power station in South Australia.

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