Southdown Power Station was a

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

-fired

combined cycle A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

cogeneration Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elect ...

power station in Southdown, a suburb in southern

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. When operational, it was New Zealand's northernmost power station with a capacity exceeding 50 MW.

History

The plant was developed by the Southdown Cogeneration Joint Venture, a joint venture between TransAlta and Mercury Energy. The plant had two LM6000 gas turbines and one steam turbine, fueled on natural gas and producing 114MW. The plant was expected to emit about 410,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. In 2000, Mighty River Power purchased 50% of the plant and purchased the remainder in 2002. A third LM6000 gas turbine was added in 2007. This was operated in open cycle mode.

Operation

Southdown was owned and operated by electricity generator Mighty River Power (now

Mercury Energy Mercury NZ Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation and multi-product utility retailer of electricity, gas, broadband and mobile telephone services. All the company's electricity generation is renewable. In August 2021, Mercury acquired ...

), and complemented the company's renewable

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

and geothermal stations. The station, strategically located in the south-central Auckland urban area, provided voltage support for the city, and helped to meet the peak demand requirements in the Auckland region. Southdown was also extensively used during dry periods, when there was insufficient water to run Mighty River Power's eight hydroelectric power stations on the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

at full capacity. Apart from generating 170 MW of electricity for the wider Auckland area, Southdown also provided steam to the local industrial area near the station. At full capacity, the station could provide of steam per hour, piped from the station to consumers at pressures of . In the 2008 - 2009 financial year, Might River Power reported 249,407 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from Southdown. In March 2015, Mighty River Power announced that it would decommission Southdown and sell the plant overseas.

References

External links

Southdown - Mighty River Power Generation
{{Mercury Energy, state=autocollapse Natural gas-fired power stations in New Zealand Buildings and structures in Auckland

History

Operation

See also

References

External links