WA Regions of Interest

Contents

Edition 3, Revised 18/10/2016

Western Australian Electricity Existing and Projected

Western Australia is our largest state with a land area of 2,529,875 square kilometres. It has around 2.6 million people, or 11% of the national population. With its  small isolated population and without any grid connection to the remainder of the nation it has unique challenges in establishing low carbon generation

There are two large electricity markets in Western Australia: the North West Interconnected System (NWIS) and the South West Interconnected System (SWIS). The two systems are not connected electronically. Additionally there is a significant resource sector generating capacity that is not interconnected.

Western Australian Generating Capacity

The approximate generating capacity in 2018[i] is listed in Table 1

System Reliable Capacity 2018 (MW) Main fuel
North West Interconnected System (NWIS)
725 Gas
South West Interconnected System (SWIS)
3,093 Gas and Diesel 3532MW installed
66 Demand Management
139 Renewables 642MW installed
1,561 Coal
Non-interconnected systems (Off grid)
1005 Gas and Diesel
49 Hydro
Total 6,638

Table 1 – Western Australian Generating Capacity – 2018

Ninety two percent of the population is concentrated in the south west corner where they receive power from the South West Integrated System (SWIS).

The state generated a total of 40.5 TWh[ii] of electricity in 2017. Approximately 18.7 TWh of electricity[iii] or about 59% of the state’s total was delivered in the SWIS. The total for the NWIS is taken as being 3.5TWh[iv]

The remaining 18.3TWh is assumed to be generated by off grid sources and industrial processes but is not properly accounted for at this stage.

Peak and Minimum demands are:

  • SWIS, Peak is taken to be 3897MW[v] in summer.
    Day min was 1600MW and now falling to 1200MW

Night Min is 1500MW

  • NWIS, Assumed peak is 500MW

In the SWIS is about 91% of electricity is generated by fossil fuels with coal at about 50% and gas at 41% while in the NWIS the fossil fuel amount is closer to 99%.

Nuclear Energy in Western Australia

Large Reactor Option

The load on the SWIS is too low to support a traditional 1000MW large scale nuclear power plant.

Unplanned outages and refuelling would require uneconomic amounts of alternative generation.

Small Modular Reactor Option

Figure 1 – NuScale 360MWe SMR group

Clearly a small self contained grid such as Western Australia’s is suited to smaller reactors in the sub 300MW class such as the proposed NuScale SMR’s. They would overcome the impacts of refuelling or reactor trips and would mean that the grid would require less extensive upgrades and energy storage can be avoided.

Currently one of the more advanced reactors being proposed and closer to licensing approval is the NuScale 360MW SMR which consist of 6 x 60 MW units. The 720MW version using 12 x 60MW units would also be an option. These plants would provide a very flexible energy generator that could also load follow.

Meeting 70% of the current annual demand would significantly stabilise prices and reduce emissions.
70% of the current annual output of 18.7 TWh gives 13.1 TWh.
This requires 5 NuScale type nuclear power plants providing 13.1 TWh at 87.5% capacity factor.

Regions of Interest for locating these plants in Western Australia

Region of Interest Location Feature Siting Cooling Comment
1 Geraldton Region Coastal  or Inland Stable rock foundations Once through sea water or hybrid air/water cooling Grid upgrade required.

Assumes minimum plant size 1 x 360MW SMR’s

2 Perth Region Coast and Inland

Replacing Kwinana, Cockburn and Pinjar Generators

Stable rock or non rock foundations Once through sea water or hybrid air/water cooling Modest grid upgrade required. Assumes minimum plant size 2 x 360MW SMR’s = 720MW
3 Collie Region Inland Stable rock foundations Hybrid wet/dry process. Modest grid upgrade, close proximity to existing Collie region power stations. Assumes plant size 2 x 360MW SMR’s = 720MW
4 Kemerton Replace Wagerup Gas Power station Stable rock or non rock foundations Hybrid wet/dry process. Assumes minimum plant size 1 x 360MW SMR’s = 360 MW
5 Margaret River Coastal Location, requires extensive grid upgrade Stable rock foundations Sea water cooling Assumes minimum plant size 1 x 360MW SMR’s = 360 MW
6 Albany Coastal Location, requires modest grid upgrade Stable rock foundations Sea water cooling Assumes minimum plant size 1 x 360MW SMR
7 Carnarvon Basin/

Pilbarra

Coastal Location, requires modest grid upgrade locally. Stable rock foundations Sea water cooling Assumes minimum plant size 2 x 360MW SMR’s = 720 MW

 

Regions of Interest for Small Modular Reactors in Western Australia

South West regions of interest for small modular reactors

 

NWIS region for Small Modular Reactors

 

[i] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_power_stations_in_Western_Australia

[ii] Citation: Department of the Environment and Energy, Australian Energy Statistics, Table O, August 2018

[iii] Table 8 Sent Out Energy Forecasts, SWIS Electricity Demand Outlook, Independent Market Operator

[iv] ELECTRICITY SECTOR EMISSIONS MODELLING OF THE AUSTRALIAN GENERATION SECTOR, ACIL ALLEN April 2015

[v] PEAK DEMAND AND ENERGY FORECASTS FOR THE SOUTH WEST INTERCONNECTED SYSTEM- WESTERN AUSTRALIA ACIL ALLEN  June 2019

Cooling WA Nuclear Plants

In Western Australia coal fired plants were constructed adjacent to available coal mines and other infrastructure.
New nuclear plants will where possible take advantage of the resource used for cooling at these plants.
In an effort to reduce the environmental impact upon inland water resources, modern nuclear power plants are being designed to use a hybrid system of air and water cooling. During periods of low water availability the degree of air cooling can be increased though at a modest reduction in power output.
At coastal plants such as those in the Geraldton, Perth, Pilbarra, Margaret River and Albany regions, sea water would be the sole form of cooling.

The tabulation shows the anticipated type of cooling at each plant

Western Australia’s long coastlines provide many options for locating nuclear power plants

While recirculating systems don’t add heat to the river or lake, they do consume water through evaporation. In Western Australia the availability of sizeable inland rivers are limited and so to overcome issues surrounding temperature rises in inland locations  mechanically driven systems known as  hybrid and recirculating systems can be used. These are now the only option used in the United States under their EPA guidelines.

An excellent and detailed outline of the cooling options is available at: Cooling Power Plants | Power Plant Water Use for Cooling – World Nuclear Association

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