Eraring Power Station

Eraring Power Station
Eraring Power Station
Country	Australia
Location	near Dora Creek, Lake Macquarie, New South Wales
Coordinates	33°03′44″S 151°31′13″E
Status	Baseload
Commission date	1982
Owner(s)	Eraring Energy
Reactor information
Reactors operational	660 MW
Power station information
Primary fuel	Bituminous coal
Generation units	4
Power generation information
Maximum capacity	2,640 MW

Eraring Power Station is one of two coal fired electricity power stations with four 660 MW Toshiba steam driven turbo-alternators for a combined capacity of 2,640 MW. The station is located near the township of Dora Creek, on the western shore of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia and is owned and operated by Eraring Energy, a company owned by the New South Wales Government.

History and facilities

Eraring Power Station view from carpark

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. Eraring power station's capacity is 2,780MW and is being progressively upgraded to 4 x 720MW.

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. Reclaimed sewage water from the Dora Creek Waste Water Treatment Works is heavily purified 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.

The coal 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. Turbines 1 and 2 are connected to a 330kV transmission line while turbines 3 and 4 are connected to a 500kV transmission line.

Fire

At 2.16 am 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 is A$20 million. The fire also caused generator coolants to seep resulting in contamination of Whiteheads Lagoon which is located adjacent to the power station. Rural Fire Service then Hazmat controlled the initial incident with subsequent investigations by NSW Police, the Office of Environment & Heritage, and Workcover NSW.

See also

• Lake Macquarie
• Munmorah Power Station
• Vales Point Power Station

External links

• Eraring Power Station is at coordinates 33°03′44″S 151°31′13″E
• Eraring Energy page on Eraring