These turbines will replace the two 120MW Stage B Units 5 and 6 that were shutdown in December 2008.Estimated to cost $263m, the expansion project is funded by the Western Australian Government. The project broke ground in July 2010 and is scheduled to come online by October 2011.
KPS currently has four generating units and a 20MW gas turbine which together produce 660MW sufficient to power 6.6 million 100W globes. It is the only power plant in Australia that has the flexibility to operate on multi fuel system.KPS is also the first power plant to adopt Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) in Kwinana region.
Plant history
KPS was initially designed as oil-fired plant using Bunker C heavy oil. It was converted into a coal-fired plant due to the 1970s oil crisis which led to increase in the cost of production. Gas-firing was introduced in 1980s and oil-firing was reintroduced in 2005.
“KPS is connected to the South West Interconnected System.”
KPS was first commissioned in November 1970. It consists of six units numbered as Units 1 and 2 of Stage A (2x120MW), Units 3 and 4 of Stage B (2x120MW) and Units 5 and 6 of Stage C (2x200MW). The total generating capacity of these six units and a 20MW gas turbine was 900MW.
Units 3 and 4 were commissioned in 1972 and 1973 respectively and had a life span of approximately 35 years. Both the units were designed for oil-firing but were later converted to gas-firing.
The 20MW gas turbine was added in 1972 while Units 5 and 6 were commissioned during 1976-1978 and can be run on oil, gas and coal.
In 2007, Verve Energy decided to stop burning of coal for Stages A and C. This, however, could not be done due to uncertainty over the gas supply and the closure of old, inefficient plants. Instead, the company decided to continue coal-firing up to 2015 and voluntarily introduced EIP even when it was not required by the Western Australian government.
In 2009, Stage C cooling canal project was undertaken to refurbish the old water discharge pipe. Valued at $2.8m, the project was carried out by Australian engineering firm Georgiou.
Plant expansion
The expansion project will include installation of two GE LMS100 turbines. The new turbines will have dual fuel capability (gas and oil) and will provide additional capacity to help Verve Energy maintain a constant and regular supply of electricity in Western Australia.
The two thermal generating boilers and stacks of Stage B will be demolished to make way for the new HEGT turbines.
Gas will be transported through the existing 1,600km pipeline from the North West Shelf gas plant located at Karratha while oil (low sulphur fuel oil) will be carried to the plant by road tankers or piped from British Petroleum (BP) Jetty and stored in tanks.
Development
The expansion project was announced by the Australian Government in May 2009. Four months later, in October 2009, Verve Energy signed the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with United Group Limited (UGL) for $190m.UGL expects to complete the construction within two years.
Technology
LMS100 is design based on heavy-duty frame gas and aero-derivative gas turbines. It is the first intercooled gas turbine system designed by General Electric (GE) especially for the power generation industry.”KPS currently has four generating units and a 20MW gas turbine.”
It has a rated capacity of 100MW and operates at 46% efficiency levels which are 10% higher than GEs simple cycle efficiency gas turbine.
LMS100 is specifically designed for cyclic applications and has features such as fast start-up, fuel flexibility, peaking capability, low hot-day lapse rate, low emissions and low maintenance cost.
Grid network
KPS is connected to the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) that stretches up to Kalbarri in north, Albany in south and to Kalgoorlie in the east.Power is generated at 13,800v in Stage A and 16,000v in Stage C which is boosted to 132,000v and 330,000v using a step up transformer.
