Redbank Power Station is a

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

power station located in Warkworth, within the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The station is currently awaiting a restart of operations after converting from its original use as a

coal-fired power station A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide, there are about 8,500 coal-fired power stations totaling over 2,000 gigawatts Nameplate capacity, capacity. They ...

. Redbank is unique for its utilisation of circulating fluidised bed technology, the only generator of its kind in Australia. Upon re-fire, the station will operate using 100% biomass at a capacity of 151MW of electricity.

History

Redbank was first commissioned in 2001 and operated as a coal-fired powered station with one

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

driven turbo

generator Generator may refer to: * Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals * Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. * Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...

at a capacity of 151MW of

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

. At the time of commission, the station was promoted as being at the cutting edge of environmental technology, but was criticised by environmentalists for producing more than other types of coal-fired power stations.

Initial Shutdown

On 5 October 2013, Redbank Energy's wholly owned subsidiary Redbank Project Pty Ltd (Redbank Project) was notified by its secured lenders of the appointment of receivers to Redbank Project, Redbank Construction Pty Ltd and the shares in Redbank Project held by Redbank Project Holdco Pty Ltd, with debts of $192 million. Redbank ceased operations in 2014 and was placed into Administration following the failure of Babcock & Brown. On 17 September 2015 Redbank Energy (REL) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Biogreen Energy Pty Limited (Biogreen), had purchased the land, plant and equipment and water rights owned by Redbank Project for $5 million, but that it intended "to commence the work to raise the funds necessary to recommence the operation of the Redbank Power Station". On 25 August 2016 Redbank Energy issued the following statement to shareholders via the ASX. "In response to shareholder enquiries, Redbank Energy Limited (ASX: AEJ) (REL) wishes to provide the following market update. Unfortunately, REL will be removed from the ASX official list on 29 August 2016. The immediate catalyst for delisting will be the non-payment of the 2016/17 ASX annual listing fee, which falls due on 27 August 2016. The reason for REL not paying the 2016/17 ASX listing fee is because REL will automatically be suspended on 9 October 2016 due to continual suspension." Redbank was subsequently delisted from the close of trading on Monday, 29 August 2016 pursuant to Listing rule 17.15.

Blockchain Mining Proposal

On 10 April 2018,

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The Sydney Morning Herald' ...

announced that the power plant could be restarted in Q1 2019 to provide cheap off-the-grid power for

blockchain A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology (DLT) that consists of growing lists of records, called ''blocks'', that are securely linked together using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a ...

mining applications. As of 2019, these plans have been discontinued, and there is no intention for blockchain mining to be a part of Redbank moving forward.

Verdant Technologies Australia Limited

In 2018, Redbank Power Station was purchased by Hunter Energy Limited, which planned to convert the existing plant from coal to biomass. This was done as the first step of a broad strategy the company presented at the time that would eventually lead to a renewable energy complex at the site of the station. In 2021, Hunter Energy Limited rebranded as Verdant Technologies Australia Limited in an effort to reflect new strategies that did not involve the Hunter Valley.

Current Operation

Redbank Power Station is currently offline, with owner Verdant planning to bring it online in late 2021. The station is reportedly ready to refire using 100% waste-biomass, and is waiting for final funding and fuel allocation to finish before commencing operation.

Fuel

Biomass

Redbank is planned to refire using 100% biomass, with an emphasis being placed on waste-biomass. This method uses wood processing debris that is otherwise unusable, such as branches and bark that are byproducts produced during

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

production of commercial timber. Biomass is considered a renewable energy source in Australia, and is accepted as a valid method of reducing

carbon emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and larg ...

within the country.

Expansion Plans

Redbank Renewable Energy Park

Verdant Technologies announced plans in 2021 to create a renewable energy park at the site of the Redbank Power Station. The planned expansion will incorporate a 50MW Battery Facility and a 40MW

Solar Farm Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

. These additions are planned to tie-in with the existing power generation being conducted at the original biomass facility currently present.

Hydrogen

In 2021, Verdant Technologies announced its acquisition of Monarch Hydrogen, which possessed the experience and technology needed for the creation of renewable

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

. The acquisition is planned to facilitate the introduction of a hydrogen production facility on the same site as Redbank Power Station. If successful, the site would be the largest producer of renewable hydrogen on the East Coast of Australia, with a planned production of 6.5 tonnes/day of compressed hydrogen by 2022.

Environmental Effects

Original Coal Controversy

Redbank was the focus of environmental concerns during its initial planning and construction. The first stage of the Redbank project was taken to the Land and Environment Court in 1994 over claims by environmentalists that it did not meet its own standards. The claim was dismissed by the court. According to

Carbon Monitoring for Action The Center for Global Development (CGD) is a nonprofit think tank based in Washington, D.C., and London that focuses on international development. History It was founded in November 2001 by former senior U.S. official Edward W. Scott, direc ...

(CARMA), in 2007 Redbank emitted more

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 E ...

and

global warming 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 E ...

causing

greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs and Emission (electromagnetic radiation), emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse ...

es per unit of electricity generated than any other power station in Australia. CARMA estimates this power station emits 1.06 million tonnes of

greenhouse gases A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor (), carbon dioxide (), methane ...

each year as a result of burning

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 dea ...

.
Carbon Monitoring for Action. Retrieved on 23 November 2008

References

External links

* http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/19/1053196531708.html 20 May 2003 * http://www.singletonargus.com.au/story/3356121/redbank-power-station-sold/ *https://hunterenergyredbank.com.au *https://verdanttechnologieslimited.com.au {{Hunter Region places and items of interest Coal-fired power stations in New South Wales Singleton Council 2001 establishments in Australia Energy infrastructure completed in 2001