Queensland Minister for Mines and Energy Stephen Robertson formally opened Australia’s most powerful onsite power plant fuelled by coal seam gas. The opening event highlighted the mining industry’s efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its activities. The 45.6-megawatt (MW) alternative energy plant, located at Anglo Coal’s Moranbah North mine located 1,117 kilometres north of Brisbane in the state of Queensland, allows the operator to capture a mine‘s methane-rich gas and use it as a fuel to generate electricity instead of venting the gas into the atmosphere.
15 of GE’s Jenbacher J620 units were installed as part of a turnkey contract that EDL awarded Clarke Energy in Australia. The overall power station design, balance of the plant, SCADA controls and turnkey construction were provided by Clarke Energy. Through the capture and utilisation of mine gas, the Moranbah North project will deliver significant environmental and energy security benefits. The distributed energy plant will save approximately 1.3 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents per year, while Energy Developments is selling most of the plant’s 45.6-MW output to the national grid.
“Our successful project at North illustrates the importance of using proven technologies like GE’s Jenbacher gas engines and relying on experienced alternative energy services partners like Clarke Energy to help Australia achieve its aggressive emissions reduction goals,” said Greg Pritchard, managing director of Energy Developments.
The CMM plant was completed seven weeks ahead of schedule and within budget to meet EDL’s aggressive schedule as a growing number of Australian mining companies are seeking to utilize their mine gas to generate electricity and reduce their site emissions. GE’s Jenbacher gas engine technology is designed to be flexible to handle fluctuating gas qualities – a long-time industry obstacle – allowing the utilisation of gas from both active as well as closed sections of mines.
Through Clarke Energy, GE has supplied its Jenbacher engines for most of Australia’s largest coal mine methane projects, demonstrating the environmental benefits and reliability of the engines.