| Huntly Power Station | |
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| Country | New Zealand |
| Location | Huntly, Waikato |
| Coordinates | |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date | 1983 |
| Owner(s) | Genesis Power |
| Power station information | |
| Primary fuel | Natural gas |
| Secondary fuel | Coal (units 1-4) |
| Generation units | 4× 250 MW steam turbine 1× 400 MW CCGT 1× 48 MW open-cycle |
| Cogeneration? | No |
| Combined cycle? | Unit 5 only |
| Power generation information | |
| Installed capacity | 1448 MW |
| Capacity factor | 66.5% |
| Annual generation | 8440 GWh |
| Website Huntly Power Station - Genesis Energy |
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The Huntly Power Station is the largest thermal power station in New Zealand and is located in the town of Huntly in the Waikato. It is operated by Genesis Power, a state-owned enterprise, and supplies around 17% of the country's power.[1]
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The Huntly Power Station consists of three separate generating plants - a 1,000 MW coal-and-gas-fired steam plant, a 50 MW gas turbine generator, and a 385 MW combined cycle gas turbine plant.
Each of the four original generating units, which are capable of burning coal, gas, or both, installed in stages between 1973 and 1985, is capable of generating 250 MW (Megawatts) of electricity, giving a generating capacity of 1000 MW.[1] Its chimneys are 150 metres high[1] and each chimney has two flues that are 7 metres in diameter. The plant uses a reheat steam cycle, with C A Parsons turbines and Combustion Engineering boilers.
In 2004 the power station was upgraded with the addition of a 48MW gas turbine plant, and in 2007 the combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant was commissioned.[2] This plant increased the total generating capacity of Huntly by 385 MW (250 MW gas turbine + 135 MW steam turbine).[1] The new turbine is a NZ$ 520 million investment[3] and takes the total installed capacity to 1485MW.[4]
Huntly runs at a load factor of 85% and is currently used to provide a large amount of the baseload energy needs of the northern North Island.[5]
Up to 50% of the coal used in the older section of the power plant is imported from Indonesia, and the remainder mined in New Zealand.[1] The gas for the newer turbines comes from the Maui gas field in the Taranaki.[6] Previous to the substitution of coal, Huntly used gas from the field to power the generation of the main units as well, but these were switched in the 1990s because of dwindling resources.[5]
The station uses water from the Waikato River for cooling. However, in order to protect aquatic life, conditions are imposed by the resource consent (issued under the Resource Management Act), specifying the quantity of water that can be removed by the station along with the maximum temperature of the water when returned to the river (25°C). These conditions mean that on very hot summer days the station cannot operate at maximum capacity, and has sometimes effectively been shut down. A new cooling tower has been built as part of expansion works at the site, which allows one 250 MW unit to run at full load even during such times.[1]
Huntly Power Stations's main electricity customer is Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, which lies 95 kilometres (59 mi) to the north of the station. It also has connections to supply electricity to Taranaki, the Ruapehu District and South Waikato, and is the connection point for the local distribution network in the Huntly area.
Two twin-circuit 220 kV lines originate from Huntly - one connecting to Otahuhu substation in Auckland via Glenbrook and Takanini (HLY-OTA-A), and the other connecting to Taumarunui via Te Kowhai (HLY-TMN-A), before carrying on to Stratford in Taranaki. An additional twin-circuit 220 kV deviation exists, connecting Huntly to the Otahuhu to Whakamaru C line at the newly-commissioned Ohinewai switching station.
The plant, as one of the biggest carbon dioxide greenhouse gas generators of the country,[5] contributing over half of New Zealand's emissions of greenhouse gases from electricity generation[7], has repeatedly drawn the ire of environmentalists and has been the focus of associated protests.[3] A 2006 government report outlining future climate change mitigation and energy policies was seen by the operator as a sign that the plant might have to be closed by 2015 under these plans, with around 10 years of design life still remaining. It was also noted that, apart from being difficult to replace as a source of power (due to New Zealand's annually growing generation demand, especially around Auckland), such a decision would also be uneconomical for the foreseeable future, even if coal prices were to rise.[8]
Resource consents to operate the four coal fired units expire in 2013. Due to increasing costs of coal, equipment reaching its design life and costs due to the emissions trading scheme, operation of the four steam units is expected to be phased out, with their role declining to dry year, reserve generation.[9] One of the four coal fired units will be taken out of service in 2012, and a second in 2015.[10]
In the online game ElectroCity, run by Genesis Energy, coal-fired power stations take the form of Huntly.
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