March 13, 2015
Stanwell Corporation has a major work schedule planned at Tarong and Tarong North power stations which means more dollars pumping through the local economy, visitors at the corporation’s regular “behind the gate” update heard on Thursday.
CEO Richard Van Breda said there was a $100 million work program planned, including a scheduled 36-day full overhaul of Unit 4 later this year, the installation of a new turbine in the Tarong North generating unit to bring it back to full output, and a new turbine in Tarong Power Station’s mothballed Unit 2 ahead of its scheduled restart in 2016.
Mr Van Breda said the electricity market was still “challenging” for the corporation, with about a 30 per cent over-supply in Queensland.
Quizzed why if there was an over-supply, power was so expensive, Mr Van Breda likened Stanwell to a farmer and the eventual price of his produce in a supermarket. The “farm gate price” that Stanwell receives for producing electricity bears little relation to the price that consumers pay, and is the same price that it has been getting since 2000.
“We make up about 19 per cent of your bill,” he said.
He said the cost of power for consumers had gone up because of the cost of “poles and wires” and the impact of solar on the grid.
“Seven per cent of the bill is made up of solar subsidies,” he said.
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Meandu coal mine site manager Simon Ewart said public notices would be published next week in regards to “surface rights” extensions to the coal mine.
The proposal is for a 5 per cent increase in area – about 130ha – to the east and north of the current pit.
“We would like to be out there in January 2018,” he said.
However, the application may face some local opposition when advertised.
Landowner Les Schloss expressed a fear at the briefing that the mine extension could affect water aquifers and “permanent” water in the area.
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Other highlights from the update:
- Stanwell has taken on 12 apprentices across the corporation for 2015, including five at Tarong Power Station
- The 1300MW of electricity generated by solar power in Queensland is equivalent to four units at Tarong, but coal-fired power still had an important part to play in the future to provide a base powerload
- A “dramatic increase” in the number of positive drug and alcohol tests in the community has prompted Stanwell to ramp up its testing program
- Unit 2 at Tarong Power Station should be restarted in February or March 2016, depending on market conditions
- All the Cement Australia equipment related to flyash removal from Tarong Power Station is now offsite; Coal Reuse will build new infrastructure
- The estimated life of the Tarong power stations is 2037
