$4.5m Callide power station upgrade increases reliability

Upgrades designed to increase flexibility of Callide power station in times of peak electricity demand.

A $4.5 million upgrade at CS Energy’s Callide Power Station is aimed at increasing reliability and flexibility during times of peak demand.

A $4.5 million upgrade of the Callide Power Station is designed to increase the reliability and flexibility for Central Queenslanders in times of peak electricity demand.

The first major modification in CS Energy's plant flexibility program, the project saw the installation of new air atomised igniters on Unit B1 at Callide Power Station.

CS Energy executive general manager Asset Management Colin Duck said there was an increasing need for coal-fired power stations to operate with greater flexibility in response to the intermittency of renewables.

"Over the last two years in Queensland we've seen a reduction in electricity demand during the middle of the day as more solar enters the grid," Mr Duck said.

"Demand then rises rapidly in the evening once solar is no longer available.

"Our priority is ensuring our plants are available when the market needs them most - in the morning and evening peak demand periods.

"This means ramping up or down in response to demand, and operating at lower loads for longer, something coal-fired power stations weren't originally designed to do."

 

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Callide Power Station at dusk

Mr Duck said the new air atomised igniters on Unit B1 at Callide would reduce the potential for unit trips during load changes and increase the life of coal mills in between overhauls.

"The B1 works have enabled us to operate the unit differently compared to how we use to. The market is changing and we need to change to adapt to that."

Using coal-fired power generation, the Callide Power Station supplies baseload electricity to the national grid via its two sites: Callide B and Callide C.

Callide B Power Station was commissioned in 1988 as a 700 megawatt facility and since then has continued to supply electricity to our national market.

In 2001 Callide C Power Station was commissioned, which CS Energy owns in a 50/50 joint venture with InterGen.

The first supercritical coal-fired power station in Australia, Callide C has a capacity of 825MW.

The total capacity of the power stations, which employ 260 people at Biloela, is 1,525 megawatts.

CS Energy announced the upgrade had been completed this month.

 

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