As reported in the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI), emissions for the Tarong power stations (which include Tarong Power Station and Tarong North Power Station), decreased between 2017/18 and 2018/19.
The power stations, which are located 45 kilometres south east of Kingaroy, operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week to meet Queensland’s energy demand, and in 2018/19 generated more than 10,800 GWh of electricity. This represented a decrease of three per cent compared to generation in 2017/18.
Particulate matter (PM2.5), sulphur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions also decreased during the year.
General Manager Generation, Brad Perry said that, as Queensland transitions towards lower carbon electricity generation, coal-fired power stations like Tarong play an essential role in providing the electricity required to meet the State’s needs.
“We’re focused on providing a reliable and secure supply of energy for Queenslanders, while simultaneously applying a continuous improvement approach to our environmental management and performance.”
In 2018/19 we invested more than $35.0 million in the Tarong power stations to ensure the sites operate as efficiently as possible and that we meet our environmental compliance requirements.
“We conduct comprehensive air quality, surface water and groundwater monitoring, to ensure we minimise our impact on the surrounding environment and neighbouring community,” he said.
“Continued work has also gone into the optimisation of the combustion on the boilers, improving efficiency at both of the Tarong sites.”
In 2019, Stanwell installed a new Beta Attenuation Monitoring (BAM) station to provide greater certainty to our neighbours about air quality.
“Our new BAM station provides additional coverage for monitoring particulates and monitors prevailing winds to better understand which direction they are blowing,’ Mr Perry said.
“We use the data from the BAM station to inform the Tarong power stations and the neighbouring Meandu Mine of potential issues and adjust operations as needed.”
Tarong North Power Station is one of the most efficient coal-fired power stations in Australia, using advanced supercritical boiler technology that reduces emissions by using higher steam pressures and temperatures.
Stanwell is exploring opportunities to evolve and renew its portfolio to include low emission generation. This includes investigating co-firing of biomass at its coal-fired power stations to reduce emissions intensity and a feasibility study for a hydrogen demonstration plant.
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