<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/literally-collapsing-around-workers-ageing-coal-plant-suffers-fresh-unplanned-outage/>
"A 380 megawatt (MW) unit at Victoria’s Yallourn coal power plant will be out
of action for at least two weeks, after an air duct collapsed during routine
maintenance early on Sunday morning.
EnergyAustralia confirmed on Tuesday that an air duct on Unit 3 of the ageing
brown coal plant “detached from the boiler end and fell to the basement floor”
while the unit was offline for maintenance.
No one was injured, the gentailer said in an emailed statement, and WorkSafe
was immediately notified following the incident.
“We are taking this matter extremely seriously. EnergyAustralia’s priority is
to ensure our people continue to remain safe,” an EnergyAustralia spokesperson
said.
“Our team is investigating the matter to ensure the integrity of similar
equipment at the power station. We will continue to work with WorkSafe through
its investigations.
“We anticipate at this stage it will take at least two weeks to return Unit 3
to service.”
Yallourn, which is one of Australia’s dirtiest coal power plants, is due to
retire from service in 2028, after its owner, EnergyAustralia, made the call to
bring forward its closure date from 2032, due in part to the rising costs of
maintaining the ageing kit.
A recent report found that the 1,450 MW coal plant has been “limping” to its
retirement date, with an unplanned outage affecting at least one of its four
generators for 32 per cent of the time over the course of 2024."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
