Southdown Power Station
| Southdown Power Station | |
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 Southdown Power Station's turbine stacks |
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| Country | New Zealand |
| Location | Southdown, Auckland City |
| Coordinates | 36°55′39″S 174°49′38″E / 36.927563°S 174.827328°ECoordinates: 36°55′39″S 174°49′38″E / 36.927563°S 174.827328°E |
| Status | Baseload and Peak |
| Commission date | December 1996 |
| Owner(s) | Mighty River Power |
| Power station information | |
| Primary fuel | Natural gas |
| Secondary fuel | Diesel |
| Generation units | 3× Gas 1× Steam |
| Combined cycle? | Yes |
| Power generation information | |
| Installed capacity | 170 MW |
| Annual generation | 850 GWh |
| Website http://www.mightyriver.co.nz/ |
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Southdown Power Station is a natural gas-fired combined cycle gas turbine cogeneration power station in Southdown, a suburb in southern Auckland City, New Zealand. It is New Zealand's northernmost power station with a capacity exceeding 50 MW.
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[edit] History
The plant was developed by the Southdown Cogeneration Joint Venture, a joint venture between TransAlta and Mercury Energy.[1] The plant had two LM6000 gas turbines and one steam turbine, fueled on natural gas and producing 114MW.[2]
In 2000, Mighty River Power purchased 50% of the plant[3] and purchased the remainder in 2002.[4] A third LM6000 gas turbine was added in 2007. This is operated in open cycle mode.
[edit] Operation
Currently, Southdown is owned and operated by state-owned electricity generator Mighty River Power, and is used to complement the company's renewable hydroelectric and geothermal stations. The station, strategically located in the south-central Auckland urban area, provides voltage support for the city, and helps meet the peak demand requirements in the Auckland region. Southdown is also extensively used during dry periods, when there is insufficient water to run Mighty River Power's eight hydroelectric power stations on the Waikato River at full capacity.
Apart from generating 170 MW of electricity for the wider Auckland area, Southdown also provides steam to the local industrial area near the station. At full capacity, the station can provide 180 tonnes (177 long tons; 198 short tons) of steam per hour, piped from the station to consumers at pressures of 155 and 910 kilopascals (22.5 and 132 psi).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Decision 280, Commerce Commission, 13 September 1996, http://www.comcom.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/PUBLIC-Decision-280-Electricity-Market-Company-Ltd.pdf
- ^ "Mercury Energy plan to build plant in Auckland". Royal Society of New Zealand. 24 March 1995. http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/1995/03/24/mercury-energy-plan-to-build-plant-in-auckland/.
- ^ "Southdown joint-venture deal in offing". NZ Herald. 29 March 2000. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=128226.
- ^ "Mighty River Power secures interests in Southdown co-generation plant" (Press release). Mighty River Power. 19 November 2002. http://www.mightyriver.co.nz/News/Detail.aspx?id=187.
