Official opening of power generation plant at Kwinana refinery

December 10, 1996

Western Australia's latest power generation plant, said to be the cleanest large thermal power plant in Australia, was officially opened today by Energy Minister Colin Barnett.

Edison Mission Energy's $150 million cogeneration plant has been built at the BP Refinery in Kwinana and will produce 116 megawatts of electricity to meet the needs of the refinery with surplus power being sold to Western Power.

Mr Barnett said that the cogeneration plant was the first of its type in Western Australia and would produce electricity from a combination of natural gas from the North West Shelf and previously wasted gas produced in the oil refinery process.

"Forty megawatts of this electricity will be used at the BP refinery, while 76 megawatts will be sold to Western Power to help it meet its growing energy needs," he said.

"By using a combination of refinery gases, usually flared into the atmosphere, and natural gas from the Dampier-to-Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline, the plant is expected to produce about 30 per cent less greenhouse gases than a conventional gas-fired plant.

"Another unique part of the project is that the heat produced as a by-product of electricity generation, will no longer be wasted.

"Instead, it will be used to produce steam which will be fed back into the oil refinery process and will be used to produce additional electricity."

Mr Barnett said that the Edison Mission Energy cogeneration plant was one of nine power stations to be completed by the private sector under the Coalition Government.

"While Western Power remains the primary generator of electricity in this State, there has been a 60 per cent increase in power generation by the private sector since 1994," he said.

"Such private investment includes the $310 million Pilbara Energy Project, the $450 million Gas-to-the-Goldfields project and the $70 million Ord Hydro project.

"This cogeneration project is a shining example of how deregulation of the State's energy industry by the Coalition Government has opened the doors for a new wave of projects."

Media contact: Justine Whittome, (09) 222 9699