Liddell Power Station, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Liddell Power Station is located at Lake Liddell
Lake Liddell
Lake Liddell is located near Muswellbrook, in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia.Lake Liddell supplies cooling water for Liddell Power Station, and was expanded to accommodate its needs during construction of the power station.-See also:...
near Muswellbrook
Muswellbrook, New South Wales
Muswellbrook, a corruption of 'Muscle Brook', is a town and Local Government Area in New South Wales, Australia. The original spelling and etymology of the town's name is a matter of some debate...
, in the Hunter Valley
Hunter Valley
The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney with an approximate population of 645,395 people. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within of the coast, with 55% of the entire...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
powered, with four 500 MW GEC (UK) steam
Steam
Steam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...
driven turbo alternators for a combined capacity of 2,000 MW.
The first generator was completed in 1971, two more in 1972, and the fourth in 1973. At the time of its completion, Liddell was the most powerful generating station in Australia.
Originally fitted with the then-standard electrostatic precipitators for dust collection, the more efficient Fabric Filters (as used at Eraring, Munmorah units 3 and 4, Bayswater and Mount Piper) were retrofitted in the early 1990s, reducing emissions to a barely visible level.
Much of the coal is supplied by overland conveyors from mines it shares with the nearby Bayswater Power Station
Bayswater Power Station, New South Wales
Bayswater Power Station is located from Muswellbrook, and from Singleton in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Bayswater shares the title of being Australia's largest power station with Eraring Power Station. It is coal powered with four steam driven turbo alternators with a...
.
Liddell was the first major power station in NSW to be built inland, using fresh water for cooling instead of the more abundant salt water used in coastal power stations. To accommodate this, Lake Liddell
Lake Liddell
Lake Liddell is located near Muswellbrook, in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia.Lake Liddell supplies cooling water for Liddell Power Station, and was expanded to accommodate its needs during construction of the power station.-See also:...
was expanded to provide more water.
In addition to the coal power station, Liddell runs two 25 MW oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
-fired gas turbines and a 0.85 MW mini-hydroelectric generator. It is also "licensed to co-fire plant biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
and coal to produce electricity", which essentially means it can use sawdust
Sawdust
Sawdust is a by-product of cutting lumber with a saw, composed of fine particles of wood. It can present a hazard in manufacturing industries, especially in terms of its flammability....
and wood shavings from the nearby timber industry as a portion of its fuel, replacing up to 5% of its coal requirements. In practice, however, biomass accounts for only about 0.5% of Liddell's output.
A project is underway at Liddell to replace some of the station's boiler feed-water by hot water from a solar thermal array
Solar thermal energy
Solar thermal energy is a technology for harnessing solar energy for thermal energy . Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United States Energy Information Administration as low-, medium-, or high-temperature collectors. Low-temperature collectors are flat plates generally used to heat...
. As of March 2007, the project was at a second-stage prototype but had not been connected to the power station.
Carbon Monitoring for Action
Carbon Monitoring for Action
Carbon Monitoring For Action is a website that contains a searchable database that estimates the carbon emissions of power plants and power companies around the world. Launched in November, 2007, its database is updated quarterly. It is produced and financed by the Center for Global Development....
estimates this power station emits 14.70 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year as a result of burning coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. The Australian Government has announced the introduction of a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme was a proposed cap-and-trade system of emissions trading for anthropogenic greenhouse gases, due to be introduced in Australia in 2010 by the Rudd government, as part of its climate change policy. It marked a major change in the energy policy of Australia...
commencing in 2010 to help combat climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
. It is expected to impact on emissions from power stations. The National Pollutant Inventory provides details of other pollutant emissions, but, as at 23 November 2008, not CO2
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
.