Munmorah Power Station, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Munmorah Power Station is a coal
fired power station on the shores of Lake Munmorah
. It has two steam turbine
s that generate
a total capacity of 600.01 MW of electricity
.
The station was originally built with four English Electric
350 MW turbo-alternators, and had a total capacity of 1,400 MW. One unit was completed in 1967, another in 1968, and the remaining two in 1969. The alternators were de-rated in the 1980s to 300 MW each, and the oldest two units were shut down in 1990.
Munmorah uses salt water from Lake Munmorah
for cooling. The coal for Munmorah comes from two local underground mines, and is delivered by conveyor belt
.
In September 2007, the New South Wales State Government
announced the commencement of a trial of 'clean coal' technology at Munmorah Power Station. The $5 million trial by the CSIRO
and Delta Electricity
will be the first part of a larger $150 million trial jointly funded by the coal companies.
On 15 October 2007, 15 Greenpeace
activists
entered the power station property and switched off one of the conveyor belts, in a protest against the climate change
policies of the Liberal Party of Australia
and Australian Labor Party
in the run up to the 2007 federal election.
Carbon Monitoring for Action
estimates this power station emits 5.56 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year as a result of burning coal
. The Australian Government has announced the introduction of a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
commencing in 2010 to help combat climate change
. 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
.
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...
fired power station on the shores of Lake Munmorah
Lake Munmorah
Lake Munmorah may refer to:*Lake Munmorah, New South Wales - A suburb on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia*Lake Munmorah - The northern most lake of the body of water collectively known as The Tuggerah Lakes...
. It has two steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s that generate
Electricity generation
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...
a total capacity of 600.01 MW of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
.
The station was originally built with four English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
350 MW turbo-alternators, and had a total capacity of 1,400 MW. One unit was completed in 1967, another in 1968, and the remaining two in 1969. The alternators were de-rated in the 1980s to 300 MW each, and the oldest two units were shut down in 1990.
Munmorah uses salt water from Lake Munmorah
Lake Munmorah
Lake Munmorah may refer to:*Lake Munmorah, New South Wales - A suburb on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia*Lake Munmorah - The northern most lake of the body of water collectively known as The Tuggerah Lakes...
for cooling. The coal for Munmorah comes from two local underground mines, and is delivered by conveyor belt
Conveyor belt
A conveyor belt consists of two or more pulleys, with a continuous loop of material - the conveyor belt - that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is called the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley...
.
In September 2007, the New South Wales State Government
Government of New South Wales
The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
announced the commencement of a trial of 'clean coal' technology at Munmorah Power Station. The $5 million trial by the CSIRO
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is the national government body for scientific research in Australia...
and Delta Electricity
Delta Electricity
Delta Electricity is an electricity generation company in Australia. It is fully owned by the Government of New South Wales, and has a portfolio of generating sites mainly using thermal coal power.-Power stations:...
will be the first part of a larger $150 million trial jointly funded by the coal companies.
On 15 October 2007, 15 Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
activists
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
entered the power station property and switched off one of the conveyor belts, in a protest against the climate change
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
policies of the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
and Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
in the run up to the 2007 federal election.
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 5.56 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...
.
See also
- Lake MunmorahLake Munmorah, New South WalesLake Munmorah is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Wyong Shire local government area. Steve Bisley from the Australian police drama, Water Rats, grew up in Lake Munmorah....
- Eraring power station
- Vales Point power station
- Colongra Gas Generation PlantColongra Power StationColongra Gas Generation Plant is a 667MW gas-fired power station located in Colongra, New South Wales, Australia and is the largest gas-fired power station in New South Wales which will be used during peak loads in New South Wales.The plant's construction was tendered to Alstom which began the...
External links
- Delta ElectricityDelta ElectricityDelta Electricity is an electricity generation company in Australia. It is fully owned by the Government of New South Wales, and has a portfolio of generating sites mainly using thermal coal power.-Power stations:...
page on Munmorah