8 November, 2023
Millmerran Power Station 20 years on
When it was officially opened in 2003 the Millmerran Power Station was to become an integral part of the State’s power supply network.
Today, Millmerran Power Station remains critical to the reliability and affordability of electricity for Queensland homes and business as it celebrates 20 years of operation.
Owned and operated by Genuity Australia, the 850-megawatt coal-fired Millmerran Power Station’s role has changed to reflect changes in Queensland’s and Australia’s electricity system.
The Millmerran Power Station was commissioned as source of baseload power to address shortages of electricity generation.
Today, it continues to operate as a baseload station alongside renewables.
It is vital particularly when renewable energy sources are not supplying.
The Millmerran Power Station remains one of the cheapest and most reliable sources of electricity for the National Electricity Market.
It achieves capacity factors of more than 85 per cent.
Importantly, the Power Station has been a large contributor to the local Millmerran and the Darling Downs region employing about 220 people including the mine operations.
During scheduled maintenance, up to 500 additional people are employed adding to the local economy.
Neil Burtenshaw is the Site Services and Acting Plant Manager at Millmerran Power Station.
He told The Pittsworth Sentinel that the increasing penetration of renewable energy – wind and solar with battery storage – highlights the importance of the Millmerran Power Station and the future role it will play in keeping the electricity system stable for our local community and Queensland.
“Our future challenges involve maintaining a complicated electricity generation plant and we are employing more engineering support to meet that challenge,” Mr Burtenshaw said.
“We are committed to complying with safety and environmental regulations and standards.
“The safety of our workforce and the local community is one of our core values and Millmerran is proud of its 20 years safety record and to have been a long term sponsor of the critical LifeFlight rescue service.
“We also support local education in Millmerran and Pittsworth through the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy programs.”
INTO THE FUTURE
Millmerran Power Station is continuing as an important asset.
“Looking forward, we are planning to install a post-combustion carbon capture plant and doing an assessment of renewable energy generation on the site,” Mr Burtenshaw said.
“We have also recommenced tree planting around our site with over 30,000 trees planted this year and plan for another 100,000 in the next 12 months.”
