Playford B Power Station

Playford B Power Station
Country	Australia
Location	Port Augusta, South Australia
Commission date	1963
Operator(s)	Alinta Energy
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	brown coal
Power generation
Units operational	0
Nameplate capacity	240 MW
Website alintaenergy.com.au/wa/about-us/power-generation/flinders

Playford B Power Station was located in Port Augusta, South Australia. It was coal powered with four 60 MW steam turbines that generate a total of 240 MW of electricity. Playford B received coal by rail from the Leigh Creek Coal Mine, 280 km to the north and draws cooling water from Spencer Gulf, returning it to the sea at an elevated temperature. Commissioned in 1963, it was co-located with the larger, newer Northern Power Station. Playford B was mothballed in 2012 and its permanent closure was announced by operator Alinta Energy in October 2015. Prior to being mothballed it primarily operated in the summer, when electricity demand peaks.

Emissions

Air

Carbon Monitoring for Action estimates this power station emits 1.77 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year as a result of burning coal. The Australian Government has announced the introduction of a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme commencing in 2010 to help combat climate change. It is expected to impact on emissions from power stations. The National Pollutant Inventory provides details of other pollutant emissions, but, as at 23 November 2008, not CO₂.

Marine

The draws seawater from Upper Spencer Gulf for cooling. It is discharged back into the Spencer Gulf 6.6 °C warmer than the original intake water temperature. The rate of flow is 14.5 m³ per second. In addition to thermal pollution, other marine discharges include (from greatest to smallest): fluoride, boron, arsenic, manganese, chromium, copper, nickel and mercury.

Closure

The plant was mothballed in 2012 with Alinta Energy citing 'market conditions'. Though not stated explicitly, the primary causes are likely to be flat or declining demand and increasing penetration of renewables such as wind and rooftop solar PV. In the financial year 2012-13, the plant did not generate electricity but was in a status of active storage, on a potential 90 day recall. No emissions were reported to the National Pollution Inventory that year.

With the closure of Playford B imminent the Australian government came under pressure from the local community through a community vote and a national campaign to replace Playford and eventually Northern with concentrated solar thermal power generation technology. This campaign has brought together diverse groups including the Australian Youth Climate Coalition under the name Repower Port Augusta.

On 11 June 2015, Alinta Energy announced their intent to permanently close the power station by March 2018, along with the related Northern Power Station, and the Leigh Creek coal mine that supplies them both with fuel.

On 30 July 2015, Alinta Energy announced the were bringing the closure dates of all three facilities forward by 12 months, and now intended to no longer operate them past March 2017 and could shut them down as early as March 2016. This was updated on 30 July 2015 to bring the closure dates of all three facilities forward by 12 months, with closure to occur between March 2016 and March 2017.

On 7 October 2015, Alinta Energy announced the permanent closure of Northern and Playford B around 31 March 2016, effectively meaning that Playford B would never re-open.

See also

• Alinta Energy
• Northern Power Station

External links

• Alinta Energy on Flinders Power Station
• Repower Port Augusta