Alinta Energy

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Alinta Energy is an Australian electricity generation company which has 6 gas-fired power stations and one coal-fired plant in Australia. It also operates the Glenbrook Power Station in New Zealand.

Power plants

Gas fired power stations

Alinta Energy currently operates 6 gas-fired power stations in Australia. These are:

  • the 502 megawatt (MW) Braemar power station near Dalby in Southern Queensland which uses gas from nearby coal seam gas fields;[1]
  • the 94 MW gas-fired Bairnsdale Power Station in Victoria’s East Gippsland region[2];
  • the 178 MW gas-fired Newman Power Station that supplies power via a ALinat-owned transmission line, that is owned by Alinta Energy, to the Roy Hill mine site which is approximately 120 km north of the Newman township in the Pilbara region of WA.[3]
  • the 285 MW gas fuelled Pinjarra Power Station is a cogeneration plant located at Alcoa’s Pinjarra refinery in WA. Alinta states that the "plant produces both electricity and steam. The electricity generated is used to supply Alinta Energy’s electricity customers and the steam is supplied to Alcoa for use in its refinery.[4];
  • the 380 MW gas and distillate fuelled Wagerup Power Station is a peaking power station located at Alcoa’s Wagerup refinery in South-West WA. Wagerup is operated at times when there is high demand for electricity in the South West Interconnected system (SWIS), Western Australia[5]
  • the 210 MW gas-fired Port Hedland power station which is located in the Pilbara region of WA. The Port Hedland plant "consists of five 42MW gas-fired turbine units located in two separate locations: two units are located at the BHP Billiton hot briquetted iron (HBI) plant at Boodarie which has been decommissioned. Three units are located in a standalone facility at Port Hedland. Alinta Energy also owns and operates a number of High Voltage transmission lines which electrically connect the facilities at Boodarie and Port Hedland and transmit power to Alinta Energy’s customers and the North West Interconnected System (NWIS)."
  • the 112 MW Glenbrook Power station plant located at Glenbrook, south of Auckland, New Zealand. Glenbrook is a co-generation plant which "is fully integrated into the New Zealand Steel plant and is the core supplier of steam and electricity to that NZ Steel facility. It currently supplies around 60% of electricity requirements.[6]

Gas pipeline

  • Alinta Energy owns 11.8% of the Goldfields Gas Transmission Pipeline (GGTP), a 1,380km gas pipeline transporting natural gas from Carnarvon basin producers in the north-west of WA to Kalgoorlie in the south east of WA. The GGTP is connected to Alinta Energy’s Newman Power Station by a 50km lateral pipeline. APA Group owns the remainder of the pipeline.[7]

Coal fired power stations

Currently operating coal plant

In January 2018 Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited (CTFE), the parent company of Alinta Energy, bought the 1000 MW Loy Yang B Power Station is located in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, 160km east of Melbourne. The first of the power station’s two units came on line in 1993, with the second unit commencing commercial operation in 1996.[8]

CTFE is a private Hong Kong-based holding company owned and controlled by the Cheng family, which has a wide range of business interests including property development, retail businesses, infrastructure and aircraft leasing. CTFE controls New World Development Company, which islisted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.[8]

Former coal power stations

  • Northern power station in South Australia is operated by Flinders Power, a subsidiary of Alinta Energy. The power station was commissioned in 1985 and has an installed capacity of 540 megawatts. The sole supply of brown coal for the power station is from the Leigh Creek mine, which is also owned and operated by Alinta Energy.[9] The power station had a refit in 2005.[10] For the first time ever, the plant was shut down during the winter months of 2012 and recommissioned for summertime operation.[11] The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) report that Alinta has advised it that the Northern Power Station will be "fully operational in the summer but only available over the next two winter periods after a recall time of three weeks. From October 2014 Northern Power Station will return to normal operation all year."[12]
  • Thomas Playford B power station in South Australia is operated by Flinders Power, a subsidiary of Alinta Energy. It uses brown coal, was commissioned in 1963 and was refurbished in 2005. The station generates 240 megawatts. The sole supply of coal for the power station is supplied from the Leigh Creek mine.[9] Alinta expressed interest in negotiating a compensation package to shut the Playford power station as a part of the Contract for Closure Program.[13] However, in September 2012 the federal government abandoned the program without reaching agreement to close any of the most greenhouse gas polluting plants.[14] Alinta stated that "whilst not currently operating" the Playford plant "remains available for recall subject to market conditions including the impacts of carbon pricing."[10]

Handout from carbon tax package

Alcoa of Australia received $14,901,959.75 of the $1 billion cash payments given out in 2011/12[15] to the operators of the most polluting coal-fired power stations. The cash was paid from the Energy Security Fund which was established as a part of the carbon tax legislation passed in 2011.[16][17]

Affiliations

Alinta is not a member of the Minerals Council of Australia the peak coal mining industry lobby group or its Victorian subsidiary, the Victorian Chamber of Mines]].[19]

Lobbyists

The Australian Government's register of Lobbyists notes that, as of November 2018, Alinta Energy's registered lobbyist is Megan Anwyl, the lobbying firm run by Megan Anwyl and which lists Liz Vivian as a Research Assistant. Anwyl is listed as having been a former government representation until February 2001 while Vivian was a government representative until April 2005.[20]

Personnell

Contact details

Alinta Energy
PO Box 16196
Collins Street West VIC 8007
Website: http://www.alintaenergy.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/alintaenergy

Articles and resources

References

  1. "Braemar Power Station", Alinta Energy website, accessed November 16, 2018.
  2. "Bairnsdale Power Station", Alinta Energy website, accessed November 16, 2018.
  3. "Newman Power Station", Alinta Energy website, accessed November 16, 2018.
  4. "Pinjarra Power Station", Alinta Energy website, accessed November 16, 2018.
  5. "Wagerup Power Station", Alinta Energy website, accessed November 16, 2018.
  6. "Glenbrook Power Station", Alinta Energy website, accessed November 16, 2018.
  7. "Goldfields Gas Pipeline", Alinta Energy website, accessed November 16, 2018.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Loy Yang Power Station", Alinta Energy website, accessed November 16, 2018.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Alinta Energy, "Flinders", Alinta Energy website, accessed December 2010.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Alinta Energy, "Contract for Closure", Media Release, September 9, 2012.
  11. Alinta Energy, "Northern Power Station return to service", Media Release, September 14, 2012.
  12. Australian Energy Market Operator, "2012 South Australian Electricity Report", August 2012, page 22.
  13. Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, "Contract for Closure", Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism website, accessed June 2012.
  14. "Contract for Closure negotiations cease", Media Release, September 5, 2012.
  15. Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency,"Generation complexes eligible to receive Energy Security Fund cash payments", Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency website, July 9, 2012.
  16. Australian Government, "An overview of the Clean Energy Legislative Package", Clean Energy Future website, accessed January 2013.
  17. Energy Security Council, "About the Council", Energy Security Council website, accessed January 2013.
  18. Ash Development Association of Australia, "Membership", Ash Development Association of Australia website, accessed June 2011.
  19. "Member companies, Minerals Council of Australia website, accessed November 16, 2018.
  20. "Business Entity Name: Megan Anwyl", Australian Government's Register of Lobbyists, accessed November 16, 2018.

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External resources

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