Federal Govt will spend $600M on new Kurri Kurri gas plant in NSW, page-8

Environmental Impact Statement Hunter Power Project iii Executive summary E.1. Proposal summary Snowy Hydro Limited (Snowy Hydro) is an Australian Government owned corporation, employing nearly 2,000 people across Australia, whose core business is to generate electricity for supply into the National Energy Market (NEM) and for retail supply to homes and businesses. Snowy Hydro’s role includes renewable and gas fired power generation, underpinning the transition to renewable energy through a combined portfolio of 16 power stations encompassing hydroelectric, gas and dual-fuel (gas/diesel), with a combined generating capacity of over 5,500 MW. Snowy Hydro now seeks approval for the development of an open cycle gas fired power station near Kurri Kurri, NSW (the Proposal) (see Figure E.1). The Proposal involves the construction and operation of a power station, electrical switchyard and associated supporting infrastructure (see Figure E.2). The power station is expected to have a generation capacity of up to approximately 750 megawatts (MW), which would be generated via two industrial frame heavy duty F-Class gas turbine units in open cycle gas turbine configuration. The gas turbines would primarily be fired on natural gas with the use of diesel fuel as a backup. The Proposal will operate as a “peak load” generation facility supplying electricity at short notice when there is a requirement in the NEM. The Proposal would connect into Ausgrid’s existing 132 kV electricity overhead transmission infrastructure located adjacent to the Proposal Site. The Proposal is being designed and approval is being sought to operate at a capacity factor of up to 10 per cent on natural gas and up to two per cent on diesel in any given year. However, it is expected that likely operations would result in a capacity factor of about two per cent in any given year. This means that in an average year, the proportion of actual energy generated by the Proposal, compared with its potential output if operated at full load for every hour of the year (expressed as megawatt hours), would be in the order of two per cent. For gas operation, the Proposal would also require a new gas lateral pipeline and gas receiving station. These would be developed, constructed and operated separately to this Proposal by a third party, subject to a separate environmental assessment and planning approval. Gas would be supplied to the Proposal from Australia’s existing gas fields that feed Sydney and Newcastle via the existing NSW gas transmission system. The Proposal has a capital cost of approximately $610 million, and is anticipated to be operational by the end of 2023.