Yet Another Yallourn Power Station Incident

There’s been a fire at Victoria’s Yallourn Power Station, but thankfully renewables (and the brilliant efforts of firies of course) helped save the day.

Yallourn Power Station is a filthy brown coal-fired emissions spewing clunker located in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley. It has four generation units, with a total capacity of around 1,480MW.

Owner EnergyAustralia said at around 6.30am on Wednesday morning a fire broke out in the Stage 2 station coal bunker area, which stores the immediate supply used in the boilers for units 3 and 4. Thankfully no-one was injured in the fire, but one worker was treated for a reaction to a breathing apparatus.

Dozens of firefighters spent nearly 6 hours getting the blaze under control. While a community information bulletin was issued, there was no immediate threat to the community and no action was required.

In its original announcement, EnergyAustralia stated the Stage 2 units reduced in generation and flagged the prospect of those potentially being taken offline as the day progressed. That appeared to happen around 12.30 -1pm according to the OpenNEM graph below, and it looks like another unit was dialled back quite a bit as well.

Yallourn’s total power output was down to around 507MW as at 7.30pm, which was the last recorded detail at the time of publishing.

Thankfully, wind and solar energy output in the state and across the border in South Australia was pretty good yesterday, taking the pressure off prices and supply. Wholesale spot prices in Victoria were actually negative when I checked around mid-afternoon.

An update from EnergyAustralia late yesterday confirmed the two units to be out of action. As for next steps, EnergyAustralia said:

“Fire Rescue Victoria has now handed back control of the scene to EnergyAustralia. We will inspect the damage and determine what maintenance and repairs will be needed. A thorough investigation into the cause will follow. “

The company estimates it will be ready to return the two units to service within the coming week. Restarting coal power units is a lengthy and expensive task at the best of times and creates additional wear and tear.

According to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), there should be sufficient supply to meet forecast demand in Victoria.

Yallourn A (Very Old) Problem Child

Yallourn Power Station provides 22 per cent of Victoria’s electricity, and approximately 8 per cent of Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM). The most carbon-intensive operational power station in Australia, it is also responsible for 13 percent of Victoria’s emissions.

Greenhouse emissions data released by EnergyAustralia earlier this month indicated Yallourn cranked out 11,066,127 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent during the 2020-21 reporting period; representing close to 60% of EnergyAustralia’s total Scope 1 emissions. Added to that are the toxic nasties associated with coal power; including mercury, carbon monoxide and particulates.

This fire is the latest in a series of serious mishaps at the plant and adjacent mine that feeds the power station’s voracious appetite.

It was only in June last year the Victorian Government declared a state energy emergency after the mine was damaged in floods resulting from storm activity. This was one of several flooding related incidents involving the facility over the last couple of decades.

Thankfully, the end is (reasonably) nigh for the unreliable clapped out coal burner’s career in poisoning the planet. Just over a year ago, EnergyAustralia announced Yallourn Power Station will be retired in mid-2028 instead of its previously planned closure year of 2032 – and it was competition from renewable energy rather than environmental concern that has led to its early demise.

Analysis from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) indicated Yallourn could start experiencing significant financial stress from renewables competition as early as 2025.