Condamine Power Station

Condamine Power Station is a 140 MW combined cycle power station near Miles on the western Darling Downs in Queensland, Australia. The station is located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) east of Miles on the south side of the Warrego Highway. The Condamine Power Station is owned by QGC Limited, a subsidiary of BG Group. It has been claimed to be the world’s first combined-cycle power station entirely fired by coal seam gas and Australia's first steam turbine condenser cooled by coal seam methane waste water. However, the Townsville Power Station at Yabulu, which was converted from a peak load power station to burn only coal seam gas in a combined cycle configuration, was commissioned much earlier, in February 2005.

Construction began on 19 October 2007. It was completed in mid 2010. The EPC contractor was Austrian Energy and Environment with the gas turbines supplied by Siemens. Parsons Brinckerhoff were the owner's engineer for construction. The gas turbine with dispatchable unit ID (DUID) "CPSA" began bidding into the National Electricity Market on 1 June 2009, with the first generation made available to the market on 10 July 2009. The Columboola Switching Station, which connects Condamine Power Station with the Chinchilla-to-Roma 132-kilovolt transmission line, was completed in October 2008.

AGL Energy had an option to acquire the Condamine Power Station. This option was not exercised and expired on 14 April 2009.

The power station has installed capacity of 140 MW. Electricity is generated by two gas turbines and one steam turbine from coal seam gas. The two gas turbines are Siemens SGT-800 models and the steam turbine is a Siemens SST-400. According to the NEMMCO Applicants list, the registered capacity of the gas turbine is 87.4 MW (2 x 43.7 MW) and the registered capacity of the steam turbine is 57.1 MW.

The gas reserves are extracted from the Berwyndale South Gasfield. Building the plant directly on top of the gas source will provide some of the cheapest gas-fired electricity to the National Electricity Market.

Famous quotes containing the words power and/or station:

    He who knows that power is inborn, that he is weak because he has looked for good out of him and elsewhere, and, so perceiving, throws himself unhesitatingly on his thought, instantly rights himself, stands in the erect position, commands his limbs, works miracles; just as a man who stands on his feet is stronger than a man who stands on his head.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    Say first, of God above, or Man below,
    What can we reason, but from what we know?
    Of Man what see we, but his station here,
    From which to reason, or to which refer?
    Thro’ worlds unnumber’d tho’ the God be known,
    ‘Tis ours to trace him only in our own.

    Alexander Pope (1688–1744)