The South Australian Government has identified Bolivar as the permanent location for the state’s publicly-owned power plant, which is set to be operational at the site from summer 2019-20.
The nine GE TM2500 aero-derivative units will be located at the southern end of the Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant, adjacent the Moomba to Adelaide gas transmission pipeline and the SEA Gas transmission pipeline, as well as ElectraNet’s 275kV electricity transmission network.
As with the temporary sites, the state-owned power plant at the permanent location will be required to pass all relevant environmental and noise level requirements.
The State Government announced the establishment of the publicly-owned power plant in March 2017 as part of its energy plan.
The process was streamlined when APR Energy won the tender to supply nine GE TM2500 aero-derivative hybrid units to be leased and installed before summer 2017 at two temporary locations operating on diesel, before being purchased and installed at a single permanent location operating on gas.
The power plant has been operational since November 2017 at Lonsdale and Elizabeth, ready to provide emergency back-up power if needed for the 2017-18 summer.
The SA Government then exercised its option to purchase the power plant in late November 2017.
SA Minister for Energy, Tom Koutsantonis, said, “AEMO has said this power plant and our big Tesla battery has significantly improved security of supply in SA, and at its permanent location this publicly-owned generator will stand ready to protect households and businesses from unnecessary supply shortfalls.”