EPA to review gas plant expansion plan

A proposal to permanently expand the operating hours of the Kemerton gas power plant has been referred to the Environmental Protection Authority, as the state seeks to firm its energy future.

The proposal would see the operating hours of the gas plant, owned by RATCH-Australia and operated by Worley, expanded permanently.

Pitched as a move to support the South West Interconnected System and support affordable energy pricing on the wholesale energy market, it would increase energy generated at Kemerton from around 480 gigawatt hours each year to in excess of 2,100GWh.

It follows an approval by the EPA in August last year of a temporary 12 month increase to the plant’s parameters to the requested levels, billed as a move to meet market demand.

“The capacity will provide security and stability to the SWIS and provide stable, affordable pricing on the WEM,” Worley said in a document supporting its submission to the EPA.

“The KPS would continue to operate as a peaking plant, however the additional operating capacity would allow it to meet the expected increasing peaks in demand, along with addressing the gap left by exiting coal fired power stations.”

The state’s reliance on coal power is expected to drop to zero by the end of the decade, with the government committed to a full phase out of the fossil fuel as an energy source.

Renewables are the long-term plan, but the firming capacity of natural gas as the renewables network and the infrastructure required to support it are built have made it an attractive alternate power option in the short-to-mid-term.

In detail which highlights the delicate balance to be struck between managing environmental and energy needs within the state, the plan would also increase the environmental impact of the project.

Worley’s submissions to the EPA outlining an increase in the maximum allowed scope one emissions at Kemerton, from 320,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per annum to 1.34 million tonnes under the revised operation limit.

“While the proposal will result in increased [greenhouse gas] emissions from KPS, it will provide required electricity to the SWIS at a lower emissions intensity than the coal-fired power plants that are scheduled to come offline by 2030, as required to support the WA state government’s ambition of achieving net zero emissions by 2050,” the submission’s supporting documents said.

“The proposal will facilitate the transition of the SWIS to a predominantly renewables network, with operating hours and associated GHG emissions reducing over time with new renewable capacity being added to the network.”

The submission said that while approval was sought to expand the operating capacity of the Kemerton plant, it does not expect the power plant to reach its maximum capacity each year.

The plant is one of three facilities on the SWIS which can restart the state’s electricity grid in the case of a major interruption or large-scale blackout.

The Australian Energy Market Operator, which last week requested a $100 million top-up to its budgeted allowance funded by market participants, contracts the Kemerton facility to provide system restart services if needed.

The operating capacity expansion at Kemerton would not involve any clearing, construction commissioning or development of new equipment, according to Worley.

An EPA comment period opened today and will close on April 4.