Kwinana Cogeneration Plant

Kwinana Cogeneration Plant was a cogeneration facility located 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Perth, Western Australia that operated from 1996 until 2021. It provided steam and electrical power to BP's Kwinana Oil Refinery and electricity to Synergy.

Kwinana Cogeneration Plant
Country	Australia
Location	Kwinana Beach
Coordinates	32°13′23″S 115°45′59″E
Status	Operational
Construction began	1994
Commission date	December 1996
Owners	Engie Mitsui & Co. RATCH-Australia
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Natural gas
Turbine technology	Gas turbine Steam turbine
Combined cycle?	Yes
Cogeneration?	Yes
Power generation
Nameplate capacity	120 MW

As a cogeneration plant, Kwinana supplied both steam and electrical power to its two customers. Steam production from the plant came predominantly from the waste heat from the gas turbine exhausts and was supported by burning refinery fuel gas from the oil refinery using 'Duct Burners' inside the heat recovery steam generators. The steam produced drove a steam turbine, further enhancing the plant's efficiency, with BP's steam supply coming from the extraction port on the steam turbine after some pressure and temperature had been lost.

Kwinana produced 119 MW of electricity,^[1] or approximately 6% of Western Australia's requirements.^[2] It was primarily fueled by natural gas from Western Australia's North West Shelf gas fields and delivered to the plant by the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline.

History

Edison Mission Energy commenced construction of the plant in 1994. It was commissioned in December 1996.

The final owners of the Kwinana plant were GDF Suez, Mitsui & Co and RATCH-Australia. The partnership traded as the Perth Power Partnership, with GDF Suez and Mitsui & Co owning a combined 70% and RATCH-Australia 30%.^[3]

The plant ceased operation in 2021 and was deregistered from the Western Australian electricity market in March 2022.^[4]