{"id":237563,"date":"2019-06-12T22:30:20","date_gmt":"2019-06-12T12:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=237563"},"modified":"2020-07-19T16:03:56","modified_gmt":"2020-07-19T06:03:56","slug":"353m-upgrade-planned-at-tarong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/06\/12\/353m-upgrade-planned-at-tarong\/","title":{"rendered":"$353m Upgrade Planned At Tarong"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tarong and Tarong North power stations showing the ash dam at rear (Photo: Troy O’Reilly)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

by Anne Miller<\/strong><\/p>\n

June 12, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stanwell Corporation is now officially “investigating options” in regards to the construction of a new fly ash plant at Tarong Power Station.<\/p>\n

Tuesday’s State Budget included an allocation of $101.7 million out of a projected\u00a0$353.7 million total cost to design and construct a new fly ash plant “as well as a range of refurbishments and improvements”.<\/p>\n

However, a spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that no contract has yet been let and the corporation is still awaiting final State Government approvals.<\/p>\n

The construction of a new fly ash plant at Tarong Power Station will ease a long-running headache at the government-owned electricity generator.<\/p>\n

Pozzolanic Enterprises \u2013 a subsidiary of Cement Australia \u2013 hauled its last load of fly ash from Tarong and Tarong North power stations in July 2014, putting to an end a saga during which allegations of uncompetitive behaviour were tested at times by both the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Federal Court.<\/p>\n

Later,\u00a0Cement Australia and its associated companies were fined $18.6 million (later reduced to $17.1 million and then increased on appeal to $20.6 million) for anti-competitive behaviour over its contracts with Tarong, Tarong North, Millmerran and Swanbank power stations.\u00a0No allegations were made against the power stations.<\/p>\n

Pozzolanic was replaced at Tarong and Tarong North by Sydney-based Coal Reuse Pty Ltd.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stanwell struck a 10-year deal with Coal Reuse which\u00a0began operations at Tarong in August 2014.<\/p>\n

However, the venture seemed cursed from the start, with initial delays blamed on the need to dismantle equipment linked to the previous contractor.<\/p>\n

In July 2015, Coal Reuse announced work to construct a new multi-million-dollar fly ash handling facility at Tarong Power Station was expected to begin soon. In the interim, the company had been using a\u00a0mobile extraction and loading system.<\/p>\n

However, when Coal Reuse was placed in liquidation in September 2016, work on the new fly ash plant at Tarong Power Station still had not begun.<\/p>\n

Since then, much of the fly ash being created by Tarong Power Station has been stored in the fly ash dam and in voids at the nearby Meandu Mine.<\/p>\n

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Fly ash is a by-product of the coal-fired power generation process.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It can be used to replace or supplement cement in concrete, providing environmental benefits including greenhouse gas emission reductions.<\/p>\n

A Stanwell spokesperson said fly ash was expected to play a major role in the concrete market as more sustainable construction became an important issue for consumers.<\/p>\n

“For every tonne of fly ash used instead of one tonne of cement, there is a saving of approximately one tonne of carbon dioxide,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

“Tarong Power Station currently produces about one million tonnes of fly ash per year,\u00a0which is treated and stored at Meandu Mine in accordance with environmental regulations.<\/p>\n

“Stanwell is investigating options to construct a new fly ash off-take facility at Tarong Power Station to reduce the amount of ash stored on-site in the ash dam.<\/p>\n

“The reuse of what is otherwise a waste product supports the Queensland Government\u2019s Resource Recovery and Waste Strategy.“<\/em><\/p>\n

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