NEWPORT Power Station’s output may double in three years, with its new owners ready to get it firing on all cylinders.
The 510-megawatt gas-fired generator is to be sold to the newly formed generating business, Babcock and Brown Power.
The company will be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in the second week of December.
BBP chief executive Paul Simshauser said the plant’s capacity could double, with work to start in three to five years and take up to 30 months.
Mr Simhauser said the site was an ideal location, but approval still would be needed through the planning process.
“The biggest benefit is that it would have a very low impact from an environmental perspective,” he said.
Mr Simshauser said the amount of Co2 emitted per unit of electricity would be about one-third lower than most of the power stations in Victoria.
“One of the reasons why the site is so good is that it is so close to where the heart of the load is,” he said.
Because of its proximity to Melbourne, less power would be wasted transferring the energy from one point to another.
“When you lose a lot through transfer, you need to produce more at the production centre, and that means you are increasing greenhouse gases,” he said.
The power station would likely run during the day, or in emergency use less than 10 per cent of the year.
Mr Simshauser admitted the planning process would be difficult.
“We are going to need to jump through a lot of hoops and the bar will be higher there,” he said.
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“Whenever you are pursuing a permitting of a site, it is never a slam dunk, you have got to do your work and you have to satisfy all the various stakeholders that your impact is going to be minimal and acceptable.”
A spokesperson for Hobsons Bay City Council could not comment before deadline, but said it had not yet received any proposal.
Lee Casey, spokesman for Premier Steve Bracks, said the government had not seen any details as yet, and could not comment further.
Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) spokesman Scott Maloney said that any such proposal would have to go through an EPA Victoria’s works approval process.
EPA has not received any works approval application.
“The works approval process is an open one that invites community comment and enables EPA to independently assess the application,” he said.
The Newport site was built in the 1970s despite union bans and resistance from community groups concerned about pollution so close to the city.
BBP is a pure play power generation business with seven operating power stations and an eight one under construction.
