GE’s latest customer pilot project utilizing its gas turbine technology will power Australia’s first dual-fuel capable natural gas/hydrogen power plant at the Tallawarra B Power Station in New South Wales (NSW). The project aims to accelerate the energy transition in Australia using gas that can be further decarbonized by using hydrogen and hydrogen-blended fuels.
Energy Australia has ordered one of GE’s 9F.05 gas turbines to power the Tallawarra B Power Station to enhance the reliability of the energy grid and help ensure NSW energy consumers have continued access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable power prior to the closure of the Liddell coal-fired 1,680-megawatt plant located in the Hunter Valley region in 2023. The power plant will operate with high operational flexibility as a ‘peaker’ plant – firing up rapidly when needed to stabilize the power grid during demand peaks – and it will utilize partial loads of hydrogen to decrease its carbon emissions footprint.
The 316-megawatt (MW) Tallawarra B Power Station will be built by a consortium with the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) company Clough and will be adjacent to EnergyAustralia’s existing Tallawarra A 435 MW gas plant, located in Yallah on the western shore of Lake Illawarra in the state of NSW – approximately eight miles southwest of the city of Wollongong. The NSW State Government and Australian Federal Government contributed AU$83 million to support the financial close and support the use of hydrogen.
