New plant will offer continuous energy
FKG Group’s new 150-megawatt power plant will be based on two energy production techniques in solar and coal seam gas.
The method of producing electricity at the proposed project has been revealed in the planning report submitted to the council.
One section of the plant will feature coal seam gas piped from the Surat Basin, which will be pumped into a combustion engine causing a reaction between the gas and oxygen.
“This combustion reaction will convert the hydrocarbon molecules from the methane gas into carbon dioxide, water, and other trace elements, and create energy,” Icubed Consulting’s Elizabeth Cruice wrote.
“The steam/hot water from this reaction will either be used for localised industrial purposes, or cooled and dispersed to the atmosphere, or utilised in the secondary phase of this project.”
In the secondary phase, the carbon dioxide will be be stripped and liquefied to be used for products like soft drinks, while the hot water produced earlier is cooled down in a process that creates more steam, which can be used to either power a steam turbine.
The solar farm will include a battery component to store surplus power generated during the day.
“The panels utilised in the facility will be similar to those used for domestic power generation purposes and will be supported on steel frames,” Ms Cruice wrote.
“The frames may operate under a sophisticated single axis solar tracking system to increase power generation through tracking the movement of the sun.
“The electricity generated will be converted from direct current to alternating current, using in field inverters and step-up transformers taking the voltage to 33 kilovolts.”
FKG Group’s property development manager Dallas Hunter said the design concept was to ensure there was a constant stream of electricity to feed the power-hungry Pulse Data Centre.
“Solar is cheaper during the day, but it’s only six hours for the day,” he said.
“We’ve got to provide capacity during the day and night, and when (the solar) stops producing we’ll increase the gas power production.”