Collie power station

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Collie power station is an operating power station of at least 350-megawatts (MW) in Collie, Western Australia, Australia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Collie power station Collie, Western Australia, Australia -33.343094, 116.260847 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1: -33.343094, 116.260847

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 1 operating coal - subbituminous 350 subcritical 1999 2027 (planned)

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Unit 1 Verve Energy [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

  • Coal source(s): Collie mines

Background

Collie power station is a 350-megawatt coal-fired power station owned by Verve Energy, a power utility owned by the Western Australian government.

The power station, which opened in 1999, is operated and maintained by Transfield Worley Power Services, a joint venture company between Transfield Services and WorleyParsons. On its website Verve Energy states that the power station has a staff of "about 40."[1]

On its website Verve Energy states that the power station consumes approximately 1 million tonnes of coal a year, which is supplied from Collie coal mines.[1]

In October 2022, it was announced that the Collie power station would be taken offline until January 2023. Coal shortages, combined with ample solar energy generation in the region, were the reasoning cited for the shut down. According to the state energy minister, a "forced outage" at the facility would allow Synergy to stockpile coal for the summer.[2]

BESS developments

In January 2023, it was reported that a 1-gigawatt (GW) battery energy storage system (BESS) by the name of "Collie Battery project" would be built in Western Australia by the French energy developer Neoen. [3] By March 2024, Synergy announced that construction of a 500 MW battery system at the site had begun, with construction expected to be completed by October 2025.[4]

Retirement plans

In June 2022, Premier Mark McGowan announced the government-owned power utility Synergy would shut its two remaining coal-fired plants by 2029. The Collie plant was set to close in 2027. (Two units at the Muja power station were scheduled to close later that year and in 2024. The remaining capacity was set to close in 2029.) The government proposed to spend A$3.5 billion (US$2.4 billion) over 10 years on 800 MW of new wind capacity, battery storage and potentially pumped hydropower. The announcement left just the Bluewaters power station as the only remaining coal plant in the Western Australian grid.[5]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Verve Energy, "Collie", Verve Energy website, accessed November 2010.
  2. "Coal shortages and abundant solar lead to shut down of Collie power station," Renew Economy, October 3, 2022
  3. [ https://www.powermag.com/major-energy-storage-project-sited-at-former-australian-coal-fired-plant/ "CMajor Energy Storage Project Sited at Former Australian Coal-Fired Plant,"] Power magazine, January 10, 2023
  4. Western Australia begins construction on 500 MW Collie BESS project, Emerging Technology News, March 18, 2024
  5. "Synergy coal power stations including Muja to close as WA Government prioritises renewable energy," ABC News, June 14, 2022

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.