At the time of completion, the Swanbank E Power Station’s Alstom GT26 combined-cycle turbine was the first and largest of its type in the country, with a capacity of 385 megawatts (MW). Since then, the power station has transitioned to base load operation, aided the stimulation of further gas developments and established a unique operating environment.

The power station, located at Ipswich in South East Queensland, neighbours the 480 MW coal-fired Swanbank B, which is also owned by CS Energy and has been in operation since 1973. Together, they can generate almost 900 MW – enough to power approximately 1.1 million homes.

Swanbank snapshot

Initially, gas from Santos’ Scotia field in southwest Queensland was sourced for the $300 million Swanbank E station. Later, CS Energy entered into agreements with Tipperary Oil and Gas, Arrow Energy and Queensland Gas Company, purchasing interests in the Arrow and QGC fields.

Swanbank E made CS Energy the largest gas consumer in Queensland and the biggest contributor to the Queensland Government’s Gas Electricity Certificates Scheme. The power station also marked a revitalisation of the Swanbank site, replacing the coal-fired Swanbank A and providing staff with the opportunity to work on the first large scale combined-cycle gas power plant in Queensland.

Alstom started constructing Swanbank E in August 2000 and oversaw up to 350 people working on site during the peak construction period. More than 800,000 hours were worked during the two-year construction.

Former Queensland Premier Peter Beattie officially opened Swanbank E in November 2002. In addition to the power station, the opening also celebrated the development of the Scotia field, the expansion in capacity of the Roma to Brisbane gas pipeline, development of an 8 kilometre connection to the pipeline, and, the construction of a new switchyard.

The centrepiece of Swanbank E is the 370 tonne Alstom GT26 sequential combustion gas turbine. Sequential combustion is based on the concept of reusing heat, where the exhaust gases from the first turbine feeds the combustor of the second.

CS Energy Project Manager for the construction of Swanbank E John Harten said “The combined-cycle design means heat from the gas turbine exhaust is used to produce steam, which drives a steam turbine connected to the same generator. This gives the plant a thermal efficiency rating of 58 per cent.

“Swanbank E produces 50 per cent less greenhouse emissions than an average coal-fired plant and uses one quarter of the water.

“We also moved to reduce our copper footprint by using fibreglass and plastic in the cooling tower and titanium tubes in the condenser,” he said.

A highlight of construction included the 370 tonne gas turbine barged up the Brisbane River in November 2001, passing under the Story Bridge, before being offloaded at Dinmore on the Bremer River and driven to site.

The turbine was christened ‘Anja’ after the baby daughter of one of the engineers working on site, a name that was later used on the official opening plaque.

At the 2003 Engineering Excellence Awards, CS Energy won the Products and Manufacturing Facilities category for the Swanbank E Power Project. Following the Queensland win, CS Energy was a finalist in the Australian Engineering Excellence Awards held in Canberra.

A unique operating environment

Swanbank E started life as a five-day-a-week plant and progressed to base load operations in 2006 after its first major overhaul. The plant is remotely operated from the control room of the larger Swanbank B Power Station, located on the same site. Prior to Swanbank E’s opening, a team of staff travelled to Alstom’s training centre in Baden, Switzerland, for classroom operations training, and also received on site training at Swanbank. According to operator Nev Powell, it was a daunting experience for a group of operators who had worked mostly coal-fired plants.

“As E station was the first gas-fired plant at Swanbank, we had a steep learning curve, as coal-fired technology bears little resemblance to gas turbine plants,” Mr Powell said. “But everyone picked things up quickly and someone from Alstom was there to help out when initial operations commenced. It was really exciting working with the gas turbine technology.”

Today, approximately 30 of Swanbank’s 130 staff work at Swanbank E, in jobs ranging from operations, maintenance, environment, health and safety, and chemistry. Many of these staff also work at the coal-fired Swanbank B, giving them a broad skill set in the power generation industry.

A typical day at Swanbank E follows a similar pattern to many other base load generators around Australia. The plant runs flat out in the day during peak demand times and drops back to minimum load late at night after demand decreases and most people are asleep. Operators in the control room of Swanbank B manage the output of the plant, while maintenance staff drive to Swanbank E throughout the day to conduct physical plant checks.

As CS Energy has bedded down the operating regime for Swanbank E, it has made some minor adjustments to assist staff operating the plant. An example of this is the recent installation of static overhead lines inside the turbine hall to improve safety while performing maintenance work on the gas turbine casings.

Safety the highest priority

CS Energy aims for a workplace free of occupational illness and injury, and a culture of responsibility towards health and safety. The company’s health and safety management system provides a uniform approach to safety at all sites and is designed to encourage continuous improvement.

A key element of this is the Permit to Work system, which is used to co-ordinate and control the isolation of live electrical plant at all power stations. In addition, Swanbank E has advanced safety and protection systems in place to safeguard people and plant.