| White Bay Power Station | |
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| Country | Australia |
| Location | White Bay |
| Coordinates | |
| Status | Decommissioned |
| Commission date | 1917 |
| Decommission date | 1983 |
| Power station information | |
| Primary fuel | Coal |
The White Bay Power Station is a heritage listed former coal-fired power station on a 38,000 m2 (410,000 sq ft) site in White Bay, in the suburb of Rozelle, 3 km (2 mi) from Sydney in New South Wales, Australia.
The remains of the plant can be clearly seen at the western end of the ANZAC Bridge on the junction of Victoria Road and Roberts Street. The station has been inactive for a number of years and the site is now inaccessible to the general public.
The station is often wrongly referred to as the Balmain Power Station, a plant originally located in Iron Cove, which has since been demolished.
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To satisfy the power requirements for the expansion of the Sydney tram and rail network, the NSW Department of Railways began the first phase of work on The White Bay Power Station in 1912.
The plant, constructed in the Federation Anglo-Dutch architectural style, was fully operational from 1917 but two further phases of development, 1923–1928 and 1945–1948, saw the station expand even further. It remained under the control of the department until 1953 when the newly created Electricity Commission of NSW took over. Ownership moved to Pacific Power when NSW electricity was deregulated during 1995.
White Bay was the longest serving of Sydney's metropolitan power stations and ceased production on Christmas Day in 1983. During the 1990s, the site was decontaminated, asbestos was removed and the majority of the remaining machinery taken away. In 2000, the plant was sold to the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA) for around A$4m.
The SHFA has produced a conservation management plan for the White Bay area and this was endorsed by the NSW Heritage Council in 2004. The future of the site, the now derelict buildings and the remaining contents remains uncertain.
White Bay Power Station boasted an interesting mixture of equipment, including 25 and 50 cycle (Hertz) alternators from various British manufacturers. The earliest plant, completed in 1917, comprised three 750 rpm 25 c/s turbo-alternators of Dick, Kerr & Co. manufacture with a continuous rating of 8.75 MW and a two hour rating of 10.5 MW. In 1925, two 1,500 rpm 25 c/s turbo-alternators from English Electric Australia having a continuous rating of 18.75 MW were brought into use. In 1926, the first 50 cycle equipment was brought into use. This comprised three British Thomson-Houston turbo-alternators which ran at 1,500 rpm, with a continuous rating of 22 MW. A Parsons 50 MW, 50 cycle turbo-alternator was commissioned in 1948, followed by a second identical unit in 1954. Two of the original Dick, Kerr units were removed to accommodate the Parsons.
The site was a popular venue for photographers and film and television productions. Productions at the power station include The Matrix Reloaded, Red Planet and a number of Australian television series, including Water Rats, and advertisements. A metal staircase constructed during the making of The Matrix Reloaded remains in the boiler house. It has recently been used as a filming site for The Great Gatsby
Occasional licensed guided tours of the plant have been arranged by organisations such as the Historic Houses Trust and Australia ICOMOS. Urban exploration groups such as Cave Clan are also known to frequent the site on an unlicensed (presumably illegal) basis.
One of each piece of power plant machinery remains on the site to demonstrate the process of generating power from coal should public tours or redevelopment ever take place in the future.
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