SECWA proposes to expand the generating capacity of the approved Pinjar gas turbine power station site (eight 37MW units) by approximately 300 megawatts (MW). This represents a doubling in the power generating capacity of the power station. In SECWA's original proposal (approved under Ministerial Statement 61 ) the plant was proposed to be a peaking plant which can operate at times of high demand (1 to 8 hours per day) or in emergencies.
In this expansion proposal the new gas turbines are proposed to operate as mid-merit plant which are generally started up in time to meet the rise in demand on weekday mornings and then operated throughout the day (up to 12 hours per day). The proposed expansion has been presented under two scenarios, the installation of:
- three 1 05MW open cycle gas turbines; or
- two 1 05MW gas turbines in combined cycle with a 100MW steam turbine.
