Loy Yang Power Station

Loy Yang Power Station
Loy Yang B (left), Loy Yang A (centre), coal bunkers from open cut mine (right)
Country	Australia
Location	Traralgon, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates	38°15′16″S 146°34′37″E
Status	Operational
Commission date	1985
Owners	A: AGL Energy B: Chow Tai Fook Enterprises 70%; Mitsui 30%
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Brown coal
Power generation
Units operational	A: 3 × 560 MW (750,000 hp) & 1 x 530 MW (710,000 hp) B: 2 × 535 MW (717,000 hp)
Make and model	Brown Boveri & Cie Kraftwerk Union Hitachi
Nameplate capacity	3,280 MW (4,400,000 hp)
External links
Commons	Related media on Commons

The Loy Yang Power Station is a brown coal-fired thermal power station located on the outskirts of the city of Traralgon, in south-eastern Victoria, Australia. It consists of two sections, known as Loy Yang A (4 units) and Loy Yang B (2 units). Both Loy Yang A and B are supplied by the Loy Yang brown coal mine. The Loy Yang power stations are located in the brown coal rich Latrobe Valley, along with the Yallourn Power Station. In 2024, Peter Dutton said he intends, if elected, to build one of seven government-owned nuclear power plants on this site, to be operational by 2035–2037.^[1]

If Loy Yang A and Loy Yang B are counted together they are the largest power station in Australia, generating 3280 MW of power (however, if counted separately, the 2,880 MW Eraring Power Station is the largest). Loy Yang A & B are base load power stations, and together produce 50% of Victoria's electricity requirements. Loy Yang also serves as the mainland connection point for the Basslink electricity interconnector cable which runs under Bass Strait, connecting it to the George Town sub-station in northern Tasmania.

Technical Features

All six Loy Yang boilers are of the forced circulation tower type and are made by International Combustion Australia. Steam is supplied at a pressure of 16 MPa and a temperature of 540 °C.

Loy Yang A

Two large dredges working coal face, and smaller unit on the mine floor

Loy Yang A

Loy Yang B

Loy Yang A has four generating units with a combined capacity of 2,210 MW (2,960,000 hp), which have been completed between 1984 and 1988.^[2] Loy Yang A consists of three units with Kraftwerk Union alternators (units 1, 3 and 4) and one unit by Brown Boveri & Cie (unit 2) that was supposed to be the second unit at the gas-fired Newport Power Station. Later during the 2000s the turbine/generator couplings were upgraded on the 3 Kraftwerk Union units to allow an increase in MCR to 560 MW. Loy Yang A is the mainland connection point for the Basslink electricity interconnector cable.

Loy Yang B

Loy Yang B has two units with a capacity of 1,070 MW (1,430,000 hp) which entered service in 1993 and 1996.^[3] The two units have Hitachi turbo generators.

Loy Yang B employs up to 152 full-time staff and another 40 contractors. It is Victoria's newest and most efficient brown coal-fired power station and can generate approximately 17% of Victoria's power needs.

Fuel supply

Four giant bucket-wheel excavators, called dredgers, operate 24 hours a day in the Loy Yang open cut mine, mostly feeding coal directly to the boilers via conveyor belt, 18 hours of reserve supply is held in a 70,000 tonnes (69,000 long tons) coal bunker. Each year approximately 30 million tonnes (30×10^⁶ long tons) of coal are extracted from the open pit. The open cut coal mine pit is about 200 metres (660 ft) deep, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) wide at its widest. The current mining licence has been extended by the Victorian Government up to the year 2065.^[4]

History

A map of the major towns and coal-fired power stations in the Latrobe Valley

The squatter James Rintoul established a stock run in the 1840s at the place where Sheepwash Creek meets the Latrobe River, which he called "Loy Yang", an Aboriginal name meaning "Big Eel".^[5]

Loy Yang facility was originally constructed through the 1980s by International Combustion Australia, who was contracted by the government-owned State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV). It consists of two separate units, Loy Yang A and Loy Yang B. Constructed in stages, it was originally planned that the Loy Yang complex would consist of eight generating units, of 525 megawatts (704,000 hp) each upon completion. The privatization of the SECV resulted in only six generating units being completed, four in Loy Yang A and two in Loy Yang B. The chimneys were constructed by Thiess Contractors.^[6]

In 1992, the Labor government sold a 51%^[7] stake of Loy Yang B to Mission Energy. Later Edison Mission bought the complete plant, and later again sold it to the joint venture International Power Mitsui. The Loy Yang complex was privatised in 1995, as were most of the assets of the SECV.

In 1995, Loy Yang B was the world's first coal-fired power station to gain quality accreditation to ISO 9001 and the first Australian power station to gain environmental accreditation to ISO 14001.

In March 2010 it was announced that the operators of Loy Yang A (Loy Yang Power) signed a contract with Alcoa World Alumina & Chemicals Australia for the supply of electricity to power aluminium smelters at Portland and Point Henry until 2036.^[8] The Point Henry Smelter ceased operation in 2014 and is now closed.

In June 2012 AGL Energy acquired Loy Yang A and the Loy Yang coal mine.^[9] In 2020, AGL announced plans to build a 200 MW / 800 MWh (4 hours) battery storage power station at Loy Yang A to increase flexibility.^[10]

Until November 2017, Loy Yang B was jointly owned by Engie (formerly GDF Suez Australia), which held a 70% stake, and Mitsui & Co with 30%. In November 2017, Engie sold Loy Yang B to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises for a reported AU$1.2 billion,^[11][12] despite some reported that it was acquired by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises' subsidiary Alinta Energy instead.^[13]

In February 2024 all four units at Loy Yang A shut down after two transmission lines collapsed,^[14][15] while Loy Yang B continued operation. Wholesale power prices soared to the market cap at $16.6/kWh.^[16]

Greenhouse gas emissions

Carbon Monitoring for Action estimates this power station emits 14.4 million tonnes (14.2×10^⁶ long tons) of greenhouse gases each year as a result of burning coal.^[17] On 3 September 2007 the Loy Yang complex was the target of climate change activists. The activists locked themselves to conveyor belts and reduced power production for several hours before being cut free. Four people were arrested.^[18]

On 23 September 2021 Environment Victoria took legal action against AGL Energy, which owns Loy Yang A (and also EnergyAustralia, owner of Yallourn power station, and Alinta at Loy Yang B) for failure to manage climate pollution, in a case that was the first to test the Victorian government’s climate change laws.^[19]

Engineering heritage award

The power station received an Engineering Heritage Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.^[20]

Future

In September 2022, AGL announced that Loy Yang A would close in 2035.^[21]

Alinta Energy, the owner of Loy Yang B, has announced an intention to operate it until 2047. However, the state government has announced a target that 95% of Victoria's electricity will be generated by renewable energy by 2035. It would be impossible to meet this target if Loy Yang B continued to operate in its present form. The Ex-Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, has stated that it is unlikely to operate to the previously announced closure date.^[22]

References

1. Crowley, Tom; Norman, Jane (19 June 2024). "Peter Dutton reveals seven sites for proposed nuclear power plants". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
2. "AGL Loy Yang | AGL". agl.com.au. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
3. "Loy Yang B Power Station | ENGIE". gdfsuezau.com. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
4. AGL Loy Yang Power Station - Transition
5. W. J. Cuthill (1970). "The River of Little Fish". Traralgon History Association. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014.
6. "Thiess: a proud history". Australian Mining Review. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
7. "Loy Yang B Power Station Pty Ltd (also known as LYBCO)". Public Record Office Victoria. 1992–1997. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
8. "Alcoa deal locks in jobs - and emissions". Sydney Morning Herald. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
9. Loy Yang A supplies approximately 30% of Victoria’s power requirements.
10. Parkinson, Giles (22 November 2020). "AGL to add 200MW big battery with four hours storage at Loy Yang coal plant". RenewEconomy.
11. "Loy Yang B Power Station Acquisition" (Press release). Alinta Energy. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2018. Alinta Energy's owner, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), has today entered into a conditional binding agreement to acquire the Loy Yang B power station.
12. Ogden, Melinda (23 November 2017). "Coal-fired Loy Yang B power station sold to Alinta Energy's owners Chow Tai Fook Enterprises". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
13. Latimer, Cole (23 November 2017). "La Trobe Valley's Loy Yang B coal-fired power station sold to Chinese-owned company". The Age. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
14. Whittaker, Jarrod; Schapova, Natasha (13 February 2024). "Half a million Victorian customers without power as Loy Yang A shuts down and storms damage infrastructure". ABC News. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
15. "Wind and solar records tumbled as storms ripped through Victoria's grid". RenewEconomy. 15 February 2024.
16. "AGL and AEMO search for answers on Loy Yang outage, but "woke" energy not to blame". RenewEconomy. 14 February 2024.
17. "Loy Yang A". Carbon Monitoring for Action. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
18. "APEC Climate Action Shuts Down Victorian Coal Power Station A". Indymedia. 3 September 2007. Archived from the original on 21 September 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
19. "AGL plots new big battery, gets sued over coal pollution". Australian Financial Review. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
20. "Loy Yang Power Station - 1984-". Engineers Australia. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
21. Hannam, Peter; Kolovos, Benita (29 September 2022). "AGL will close Victoria's coal-fired power station Loy Yang A a decade earl". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
22. Eddie, Rachel; Sakkal, Paul; Gordon, Josh; O'Malley, Nick (20 October 2022). "Switch to state control starts clock ticking on coal-fired power plants". The Age. Retrieved 5 November 2022.

External links

• Loy Yang Power
• International Power
• Australian Energy Market Operator Participant Registration List