Eraring Power Station, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
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 electricity power stations on the shores of Lake Macquarie
Lake Macquarie (New South Wales)
Lake Macquarie is Australia's largest coastal salt water lake, covering an area of in the Hunter Region of New South Wales with most of the City of Lake Macquarie's residents living near its shores. It is connected to the Tasman Sea by a short channel. Lake Macquarie is twice as large as Sydney...
in New South Wales. Eraring is located on the western shore of the lake, near the township of Dora Creek
Dora Creek
Dora Creek is a small rural suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia, located west of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales and north of the town of Morisset....
. It has four 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 Toshiba turbo-alternators, with a total capacity of 2,640 MW (660MW each).
Development
The first turbo-alternator was brought online in 1982, with the second and third in 1983, and the fourth in 1984. There are plans to upgrade generating capacity of each of the four turbines.The process of upgrading the control room to a fully digital system was completed in 2005.
Details
Eraring Power Station uses salt waterSeawater
Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...
from Lake Macquarie
Lake Macquarie (New South Wales)
Lake Macquarie is Australia's largest coastal salt water lake, covering an area of in the Hunter Region of New South Wales with most of the City of Lake Macquarie's residents living near its shores. It is connected to the Tasman Sea by a short channel. Lake Macquarie is twice as large as Sydney...
for cooling. This is supplied through a concrete tunnel which passes under Dora Creek and up to the station via open canal. Reclaimed sewage
Sewage
Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
water from the Dora Creek Waste Water Treatment Works is heavily purified
Water purification
Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, materials, and biological contaminants from contaminated water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose...
and used to generate steam for the turbines as opposed to the salt water supplies. The salt water helps in the cooling of the superheated steam as well as moderation of the temperature of outlet water to minimise thermal pollution
Thermal pollution
Thermal pollution is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature.A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers...
.
The coal for Eraring comes from five mines in the local area, delivered by conveyor, rail and private road. There is significant coal storage capacity on site. Eraring power station employs the Fabric Filter system of dust collection, in which particulate emissions resulting from coal combustion are captured as opposed to being released into the atmosphere. Some of this material is stored in an area nearby while some is taken and used as a component of road base.
Electricity generated at the station is transmitted through high voltage transmission lines
Electric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
. Turbines 1 and 2 are connected to a 330kV transmission line while turbines 3 and 4 are connected to a 500kV transmission line.
Fire
On 28 October, a large fire erupted in one of the power station's generator. The blaze took 4 hours to extinguish and is expected to cost an estimated $20 million to repair. The fire also caused generator coolants to seep resulting in contamination of Whiteheads Lagoon which is located adjacent to the power station.See also
- Lake MacquarieLake Macquarie (New South Wales)Lake Macquarie is Australia's largest coastal salt water lake, covering an area of in the Hunter Region of New South Wales with most of the City of Lake Macquarie's residents living near its shores. It is connected to the Tasman Sea by a short channel. Lake Macquarie is twice as large as Sydney...
- Munmorah Power Station
- Vales Point Power Station
External links
- Eraring EnergyEraring EnergyEraring Energy 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 using thermal coal, wind, and hydroelectric power....
page on Eraring