Munmorah Power Station is a demolished

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

-fired

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

with four 350 MW English Electric steam driven turbo-

alternators An alternator is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field with a stationary armature.Gord ...

for a combined capacity of 1,400 MW. The station was located near Doyalson, on the shores of Lake Munmorah,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia and was owned and operated by

Delta Electricity Delta Electricity is an electricity generation company in Australia. The company was formed by the Government of New South Wales in 1996 as part of its reform of the electricity sector in the State, which saw the breakup of the Electricity Commi ...

, a company owned by the

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governme ...

. In July 2012 the coal-fired generators were permanently retired from service, with demolition occurring from 2016 to 2018. However, the nearby gas-fired Colongra power station, which was commissioned in 2009, remains in operation.

History and facilities

The station was constructed with 4 English Electric 350 MW turbo-alternators. Munmorah had a total capacity of 1,400 MW. Steam was supplied at a pressure of 2,500 psi and a temperature of 460 °C. One unit was completed in 1967, another in 1968, and the remaining two in 1969. Units 3 and 4 had fabric filters fitted in the 1980s, and this reduced load to 320 MW each. Units 1 and 2 were relegated to emergency use from 1992. Munmorah drew salt water from Lake Munmorah, part of the Tuggerah Lakes, for condenser cooling. The coal for Munmorah came from two underground mines, Munmorah State mine and Newvale No.2 Colliery, and also from Vales Point coal storage via a series of

conveyor belts A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system is one of many types of conveyor systems. A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to ...

. In September 2007, the New South Wales State Government announced the commencement of a trial of 'clean coal' technology at Munmorah Power Station. The A$5 million trial by the CSIRO and Delta Electricity was part of a larger A$150 million trial jointly funded by the coal companies. On 15 November 2007, 15 Greenpeace

activists Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

entered the power station property and switched off one of the conveyor belts as a protest against the

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

policies of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

and

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

in the run up to the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not ...

. In 2012 Carbon Monitoring for Action estimated the power station emitted 4.246 million tonnes of greenhouse gases as a result of burning coal.

Closure

Delta Electricity announced on 3 July 2012 the closure of Munmorah power station after 45 years of operation due to decreasing energy demand. Parts of the boilers and turbines needed to be replaced which would have cost about $AUD 400 million. Units 3 and 4 had been maintained on standby but had not been in production since August 2010. Munmorah was disconnected from the grid in May 2014 and completely de-commissioned. Plans were made to demolish the station and its out-buildings and sell off the 500 acres of surrounding land for housing and sporting venues.

Chimney Stacks

*2 Emission Stacks at a height of 155 metres tall.

Demolition

In 2013 was the beginning for demolition to begin on Munmorah Power Station facilities, the first move was to pull away parts from the boilers. That included some facilities inside the boilers and the vents that went to the emission stacks from the boiler facility. In 2015, was time to disconnect all vintage equipment from the large shed and boiler and send them off to the scrap heap. In December 2015 a survey of the power station precinct found that pollutants(diesel) had entered the water table and made some areas unsuitable for housing. Demolition started in 2016 and was completed by the end of 2018. On 26 March 2017 at 10:10am, the two Emission Stacks at 155 metres tall, came crashing down by a controlled demolition. Demolition of the boilers occurred in May 2017 and 2018.

Popular Times at Munmorah Power Station

A documentary was based on Munmorah Power Station in the mid 1990s, detailing effects to our environment from coal fired power stations like Munmorah.

Plant information

Emission stacks

*Amount: 2 *Height: 155m *Diameter at base: 23m *Diameter at top: 12m

Engineering heritage award

The power station received an Engineering Heritage Marker from

Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA) is an Australian professional body and not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineers Australia is Australia's recognized org ...

as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.

References

External links

page o
Munmorah
{{Energy in New South Wales Coal-fired power stations in New South Wales 1967 establishments in Australia Former coal-fired power stations Decommissioned power stations in New South Wales Demolished power stations Energy infrastructure completed in 1967 2012 disestablishments in Australia Buildings and structures demolished in 2017 Recipients of Engineers Australia engineering heritage markers