Energy Australia prepares for scorching summer
With a scorching El Niño summer on the cards, EnergyAustralia has been preparing for increased electricity demand through a multimillion-dollar summer readiness program, which includes maintenance of its existing fleet of power stations as well as bringing new energy resources online.
Teams at Yallourn (Vic), Mount Piper (NSW), Tallawarra (NSW), Newport (Vic), Jeeralang (Vic) and Hallett (SA) power stations have been undertaking major upgrades and readiness maintenance. This included the completion of integrity outages at Yallourn (1440 MW) and Tallawarra A (435 MW) in order to test reliability and safety.
The pre-summer maintenance program at Jeeralang (450 MW) involved bushfire and demineralisation plant readiness.
“Our summer readiness program has been underway for several months in an effort to ensure all our generation assets are available on the highest of demand days,” said EnergyAustralia Executive Energy Operations Sue Elliott.
“We have been investing in our power stations through preventative maintenance and major upgrades, and our people have been working hard to ensure our power stations are there for the homes and businesses that rely on us to stay cool over summer.”
As part of its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, EnergyAustralia is also investing in expanding its renewable energy capabilities. This includes NSW’s newest gas power station, Tallawarra B, which is expected to be online in early 2024.
“Set to supply reliable power to an additional 150,000 homes during peak periods, Tallawarra B can ramp up and down to support the system in all weather conditions,” Elliott said.
Another new asset is the Riverina and Darlington Point Battery System (150 MW), built by Edify and operated by EnergyAustralia. Connected to the NSW grid in September 2023, the system has a two-hour duration providing enough energy for around 49,000 NSW homes, according to Elliott.
“Our growing portfolio of renewable firming investments forms part of our plan to deploy over $5 billion in capital with partners in energy storage and renewables firming initiatives,” she said.
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