Diesel generators at Elizabeth and Lonsdale are ready to provide 276MW of extra power to South Australia this summer

THE diesel generators leased by the State Government to help avoid electricity shortfalls have been declared ready — and will provide 276MW of extra power to South Australia as the state heads into summer.

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THE diesel generators leased by the State Government to help avoid electricity shortfalls have been declared ready — and will provide 276MW of extra power to South Australia as the state heads into summer.

The generators are spread over two sites, at Elizabeth and Lonsdale, and will be run on diesel during December and January to avoid a repeat of crippling blackouts as demand surges in hot weather.

They can be called upon with less than 13 minutes notice.

The Government had set a December 1 deadline to have the generators operating.

Premier Jay Weatherill described the two clusters of GE TM2500 aero derivative turbines as “our own power plant”.

The GE TM2500 — described as a power plant on wheels.

The nine generators are supplied by US-based APR Energy, which won a tender process that attracted 31 expressions of interest from countries including Australia, China, Malaysia, Singapore, France, Finland, Spain and the UK.

It comes as Victorian authorities prepare to install diesel generators to provide 100MW of power to that state, amid warnings of potential shortfalls after the closure of the Hazelwood coal-fired power station.

SA Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said testing and commissioning of the turbines had gone “exceptionally well”.

He said SA was “in a much better position this summer to avoid unnecessary blackouts” like the statewide event in September last year because it could rely on the generators and a 100MW battery being built at Jamestown.

They are part of a $550 million energy policy promised by Labor.

A cluster of TM2500 generators in Indonesia.

It announced in August that it would lease generators, which can run off diesel or gas, to provide up to 276MW of energy in times of emergency.

At the time, Mr Weatherill said the contract enabled the Government to later buy the turbines.

Mr Koutsantonis has flagged that it is ready to “potentially” take up that option “very, very soon”.

Once that occurs, the Government plans to consolidate the turbines on one site, supplied by South Australian gas, to provide state-controlled power generation.

Mr Koutsantonis could not say when that would happen, except that it would be after this summer.

He said the Government would consult the public on the future location, which would have to be approved by environmental assessors.

Mr Weatherill rejected suggestions that it was risky to flag intentions to buy the generators while the Government had a lease agreement for the next two years.

He argued SA would “always need the capacity” offered by the fast starting generators and it was prudent to have them under state ownership.

Australian Energy Market Operator figures reveal that while the state is facing significant risk of blackouts this summer without the generators and battery and a small chance the following summer, that risk essentially drops to zero thereafter.

The latest AEMO report into the state’s electricity system released earlier this month found that: “The risks are forecast (subject to significant uncertainty) to reduce after 2017–18. From 2018–19, the forecast maximum demand is expected to be moderated by increasing (solar) PV uptake and energy efficiency, and additional large-scale renewable generation is expected to be developed.”

Mr Weatherill said he expected other State Governments would ask SA to use its generators to feed into the national grid.

However, he said they would be “principally reserved to protect” supply in SA.

Mr Weatherill would not detail the cost of the generators but said they were “under budget” by about $1 million and were included in the Government’s total $550 million energy plan.