THE Wallerawang power station may no longer be contributing to the nation’s electricity grid but it may again make a significant contribution to the local economy.
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According to EnergyAustralia there have been industrial concerns ‘knocking on our door’ to express interest in utilising at least portions of the site.
The encouraging revelation came from EnergyAustralia Head of NSW Operations Luke Welfare and Support Services Leader at Mt Piper Michelle Blackley in an exclusive interview with the Lithgow Mercury.
Mr Welfare said the loss of the ageing Wallerawang power station might not be all doom and gloom.
“People have been knocking on our door expressing interest in the site,” he said.
“We have told them to put their proposals in writing and we can move from there.”
Mr Welfare said that the preliminary discussions were promising and some ‘will be big news for Lithgow if they proceed’.
And he said the future for Mt Piper station looks bright, particularly with coal supply now guaranteed from Springvale Colliery.
Wallerawang power station is more than 50 years old and two years ago fell victim to a combination of old age maintenance costs at a time of falling electricity demand.
It is now the subject of a demolition process but even this has to be approved by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission, the same body that finally approved the Springvale extension.
Documentation for a development application is being prepared and is expected to take about six months to process.
As a result it will probably be at least 12 months and possibly longer before approvals are in place and any structural demolition can begin.
An Australian firm with expertise in the field, E A Auctions, has been retained to provide professional assistance in the process and some ‘high value equipment’ suitable for re-use has already been removed.
Some Wallerawang equipment is also being relocated to Mt Piper including water treatment plant and spare parts.
But the biggest single items, the turbines, are 35 years old and can not compete with modern cost effective technology.
Mr Welfare rejected suggestions that the two big chimneys and cooling tower could be retained as a landmark and memorial to the electricity industry in Wallerawang.
Chimneys of this nature, he said, require ongoing costly maintenance that can not be justified.
Their height is also an issue and when they come down the vast amounts of concrete and steel will be recycled.
The first that the public will notice during demolition will be the old wooden cooling towers on Unit Seven closest to Main Street, Wallerawang.
But the biggest revelation from Mr Welfare was that ‘... we have people knocking on our door expressing interest in using some of the buildings on the site.
“We have told them to come back to us with a proposition.
“People have been talking to us and looking at what sections we could be selling off.
“There are some among them that could prove to be very good news for Lithgow.”
These do not include the plant already being established at Mt Piper to create building material from the power station ash.
In relation to Mt Piper Mr Welfare said the station was ‘in very good condition with a lot of very good workers’ and he was confident of a future for the plant ‘until mid century’.
