Delta Electricity, a State Owned Corporation born out of the restructure of the NSW electricity industry, is responsible for generating more than 30 per cent of the State’s power. Delta has four coal-fired power stations at Vales Point, Mt Piper, Wallerawang and Munmorah.
With the demand for electricity rising in step with the growing NSW economy, the Minister for Planning in July 2006 granted Delta approval to construct a 660-megawatt gas turbine facility at Colongra, adjacent to Munmorah on the NSW Central Coast. Scheduled to become operational in September 2009, the new power station is a peaking plant which will supply electricity at short notice in periods of high demand, alleviating the problem of power outages.
Gas-fired power generation emits 40 per cent less greenhouse gas than a coal-fired plant and can be started and brought online within a few hours. In comparison, coal-fired power stations can take up to two days to become fully operational. However, the use of gas turbines to reduce greenhouse gas intensity may not be a long-term replacement for coal generation, given Australia’s limited gas supplies. Meanwhile, it is likely to be an effective transitional step pending the development of gasification and carbon capture and storage technologies to exploit Australia’s other fossil-fuel reserves.
TCorp has assisted Delta with the hedging of Euro and Swiss franc deliverables and will provide ongoing debt management for the project.
Richard Street is the Chief Financial Officer, Delta Electricity.