The Wivenhoe Power Station is back up and running after $14 million worth of major works, spanning over 100 days, have been completed.
The Queensland power station’s overhaul was completed safely and on budget, with the maintenance works creating 100 jobs.
The works involved large-scale maintenance on one of the station’s 285MW turbines and included:
- More than 170 tonnes of scaffolding
- Removing 200 thousand litres of oil from the power station
- 78 tonnes of sandblasting
- And close to 5,000 litres of paint
Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen, Mick de Brenni, said that the overhaul means that the 570MW power station can continue to produce cleaner, cheaper energy for decades to come.
“Wivenhoe is a unique facility – Queensland’s only pumped storage hydroelectric power station and as a fast ramping, flexible energy generator, is a major contributor to our plans for 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030,” Mr de Brenni said.
“Its role in guaranteeing power for Queensland is vital.”
Member for Bundamba and Assistant Minister for the 50 per cent Renewable Energy Target by 2030, Lance McCallum, said the overhaul over the past 113 days involved some challenging situations.
“Much of the work was undertaken at considerable heights and in confined spaces requiring precision and experience,” Mr McCallum said.
Wivenhoe Site Manager, Trevor Turner, said safety was the top priority during work and that another key aspect of the project’s success was maintaining community spirit on site.
“We staged a weekly barbecue bringing together the whole team – CleanCo staff and contractors – and raised thousands of dollars for community charities along the way,” Mr Turner said.
Downer managed the overhaul services bringing more than 100 people on-site to complete the work, Superintendent, Darryl Gibb, said it was one of the most successful maintenance overhauls he’s worked on.
“It’s a major thing to take operating units of a hydroelectric power station offline for such works, but it’s vital to ensure that the station continues to operate efficiently and effectively,” Mr Gibb said.
Mr Gibb said that specialist contractors working on the overhaul have been living in the local area throughout the works and this has been a good opportunity to form close working relationships.
“The overhaul of a hydroelectric station is challenging, so it was important that the team spirit remained strong and the famous Wivenhoe Saturday morning barbecues were a great opportunity for the overhaul team to celebrate their successes and also give back to the local community,” Mr Gibb said.
CleanCo Chair, Jacqui Walters, has acknowledged the efforts of Site Manager Trevor Turner, Downer and the specialist contractors who worked on the project.
“Thanks to the hard work of this team endeavour, we can continue to ensure that we meet our mandate to provide reliable, affordable energy for our customers and the Queensland community,” Ms Walters said.
