| Eraring Power Station | |
|---|---|
 Eraring Power Station | |
| Country |
|
| Location | nearDora Creek,Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia |
| Coordinates | 33°03′44″S151°31′13″E / 33.06222°S 151.52028°E /-33.06222; 151.52028 |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date | 1984 |
| Decommission date |
|
| Owner | Origin Energy |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Bituminous coal |
| Turbine technology | Steam turbine - Subcritical |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 4 × 720 megawatts (970,000 hp)1 x 42 megawatts (56,000 hp) |
| Make and model | Tokyo Shibaura Electric (Japan) |
| Nameplate capacity | 2,922MW |
| Capacity factor | 63.47%(average 2017-2021) |
| Annual net output | 16,012 GW·h(average 2017-2021) |
| External links | |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
 | |
Eraring Power Station is acoal-fired power station consisting of four 720 MWToshibasteam-driven turbo-alternators for a combined capacity of 2,880 MW. The station is located near the township ofDora Creek, on the western shore ofLake Macquarie, New South Wales,Australia and is owned and operated byOrigin Energy. It is Australia's largest power station.[1] The plant has two smokestacks rising 200 m (656 ft) in height.[2] It was scheduled for closure by mid-2025, after a failed attempt to sell the loss making power station back to the state government.[3][4] TheNew South Wales Government in May 2024 extended the operational life of Eraring to August 2027.[5][6][7]
Construction of the power station began in 1977. The first turbo-alternator was brought online in 1982, with the second and third in 1983, and the fourth in 1984.[1] The generating capacity of each of the four turbines was upgraded from 660 MW to 720 MW between 2011 and 2012.[8] The process of upgrading the control room to a fully digital system was completed in 2005.
Salt water from Lake Macquarie is used for cooling and is supplied through a concrete tunnel which passes under Dora Creek and up to the station via open canal. Reclaimedsewage water from the Dora Creek Waste Water Treatment Works is heavilypurified and used to generate steam for the turbines as opposed to using municipal potable water supplies. The salt water helps in the cooling of the superheated steam as well as moderation of the temperature of outlet water to minimisethermal pollution.
Thecoal comes from fivemines 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. From 2009 to 2013 the Eraring power station has been equipped with Dry Bottom Ash Handling Systems (the MAC - Magaldi Ash Cooler) at all four units.
Electricity generated at the station is transmitted through high voltagetransmission lines. Turbines 1 and 2 are connected to a 330 kV transmission line while turbines 3 and 4 are connected to a 500 kV transmission line. It was scheduled to close by 2025,[9] seven years sooner than expected, owing to its operator's inability to cope with the "influx of renewables."[10] Origin is building a 460 MW / 920 MWh (stage 1)Wärtsilägrid battery at the site, eventually extending to 700 MW / 2800 MWh.[11][12][13]
At 2.16 am on Friday 28 October 2011 unit 2B generator transformer exploded with the transformer oil catching fire. The oil fire burnt for approximately two days and the estimated repair cost was A$20 million.[14][15]Fire and Rescue NSW, assisted by theNew South Wales Rural Fire Service controlled the initial incident with subsequent investigations byNSW Police, theOffice of Environment & Heritage andWorkCover NSW.
As of 2017, The power station has had allegations made against it, regarding the exceedance of NSWair pollution standards.[16] The EPA reportedMercury emissions of 1.3 kg, and has begun investigating the alleged under reporting of self collected emission data.[17]
The generation table useseljmkt nemlog to obtain generation values for each year. Records date back to 2011.
| Year | Total | ER01 | ER02 | ER03 | ER04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 13,659,058 | 2,312,987 | 3,517,022 | 3,431,958 | 4,397,091 |
| 2012 | 11,436,338 | 3,957,318 | 2,495,671 | 4,042,090 | 941,259 |
| 2013 | 11,212,750 | 2,466,760 | 2,919,034 | 2,627,003 | 3,199,953 |
| 2014 | 14,872,236 | 4,097,055 | 3,209,461 | 3,880,398 | 3,685,322 |
| 2015 | 13,859,264 | 3,143,835 | 3,401,995 | 3,467,143 | 3,846,291 |
| 2016 | 12,976,982 | 3,715,825 | 3,319,561 | 2,581,666 | 3,359,930 |
| 2017 | 17,808,059 | 4,590,572 | 4,214,507 | 4,429,132 | 4,573,848 |
| 2018 | 17,138,862 | 3,684,174 | 3,789,465 | 4,587,046 | 5,078,177 |
| 2019 | 17,180,757 | 4,129,736 | 4,919,873 | 3,213,348 | 4,917,800 |
| 2020 | 14,779,159 | 3,507,469 | 3,781,969 | 3,999,132 | 3,490,589 |
| 2021 | 13,151,237 | 3,307,567 | 3,530,184 | 3,910,043 | 2,403,443 |
The NSW government considered a pitch to buy the loss-making Eraring Power Station in secret talks with Origin Energy last year. But the deal fell apart amid government concerns that underwriting a plan to keep the coal-fired power station open longer could "crowd out" other investments in energy.
