AGL has signed a contract with an energy technology company to install a Distributed Control System (DCS) at its Macquarie Bayswater power station in the Hunter Valley (NSW).
AGL executed a contract with Siemens Australia to deliver and maintain the DCS and a simulator training facility as part of the $63million project.
AGL Macquarie General Manager, Ian Brooksbank, said this is an exciting announcement for the future of Bayswater power station and a significant investment, which is a boost for the Hunter economy.
“The new DCS will enhance safety, improve power station reliability and enable the plant to operate more efficiently,” Mr Brooksbank said.
“It will transform how we operate the plant and perform as a business.
“Our employees will be using world-leading technology to operate one of Australia’s largest and most important power stations.”
A DCS is a semi-automated system that monitors, controls and instructs the various parts of a power station, to help manage efficient performance and operation.
The capital and maintenance investment was first identified in 2014 at the time AGL purchased Macquarie Generation.
Installation of the DCS is expected to start in September 2017 during a major maintenance outage on Bayswater Unit 1, and continue on successive planned unit outages until late 2019.
Bayswater power station was commissioned in 1985-86 and consists of four generating units with a total capacity of 2,640MW.
Bayswater produces approximately 15,000GWh of electricity per annum, which is enough to power two million average Australian homes.
AGL Macquarie’s Bayswater and Liddell power stations combined supply approximately 30 per cent of electricity demand in NSW.
