Now the chimneys are felled, what will become of the Hazelwood Power Station site?
Hazelwood is a 4000 hectare site that includes among the defunct brown coal-fired power station, a 1281 hectare mine void, operational switchyard, a 524 hectare pondage, as well as landfill and dump areas1. It is owned by Engie, a French-based energy provider.
The eight towers at the defunct Hazelwood Power Station in Morwell, Victoria, came tumbling down on Monday in a controlled demolition that highlights the end of an era.
The 137 metre1 chimney assets operated for more than fifty years before the brown coal-fired power station was shut down in 2017. During its years of operation, the generating units collectively produced 1600MW of electricity and the power station provided more than twenty-five percent of power to Victorians2.
At AMSPEAK, delegates were intrigued by the presentation by Michael Lesnie, Senior Associate from Qubist1, outlining the juxtaposition of small asset renewal projects in the utilities sector, and the capital expenditure of the business.
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Tuesday 12th May saw the Brisbane Chapter host an internationally attended webinar of over 300 delegates on disruption in asset management. This informative session was provided by Denise Brown from Powerlink.
It has been said many times before that we are living in extremely challenging times. The terrain of enforced shut down caused by the coronavirus pandemic across towns and cities globally is unchartered. Nobody knows precisely what is best. Decisions made represent a fine balancing act between the health of people and the economic stability of the country. These are not mutually exclusive; most readers will be aware that economic stability in any country vastly improves the health of that country’s inhabitants.
Renewable energy seems to be an answer to the current climate crisis. The coal-fired plants are aging and many believe they are responsible for excessive greenhouse gas emissions. However, what happens when the wind isn’t tickling the leaves on trees, or the sun isn’t shining in the sky? Reliance on intermittent energy sources is problematic, as power cannot be generated during those times of darkness or stillness.