More gas-fired power stations in WA:

Verve Energy’s Kwinana Power Station was built in 1970 and it was originally designed for “Bunker C” heavy fuel oil. However, the 1973 Middle East oil crisis resulted in a sudden, sharp increase in oil prices, causing a corresponding increase in electricity production costs. 

To reduce the reliance on oil in the 1970s, the old State Energy Commission of Western Australia (SEC of WA) decided to recommission coal at its East Perth and South Fremantle Power Stations. Also, the new Kwinana Stage C (5 and 6) generating units were converted so they could use both coal and oil by April 1979.

Later Stage A was also coal-converted by April 1983. With the North West Shelf gas developments, all units were also configured to burn gas in the mid to late 1980s.  Kwinana Power Station became one of the few power stations in the world that could use either oil, coal or natural gas and change over to a different fuel at the mere press of a button. This was seen as an engineering feat, attracting industry visitors from all over the world.

Kwinana Power Station has a total generating capacity of 900 megawatts (MW), or enough energy to light nine million globes of 100 watts (W) each.


Above - An aerial photo of Kwinana Power Station.

Google Earth - Kwinana Power Station

Once the North West Shelf gas pipeline was completed in 1984, greater use of natural gas could be contemplated in other parts of Western Australia. Gas turbine power stations were built at Mungarra, near Geraldton, in 1989 as well as in Pinjar, just north of Perth, in 1990.

Carnarvon also became linked to the main Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline by a 170km “lateral pipeline” in 1988. This allowed the Carnarvon Power Station to operate on a combination of diesel oil and natural gas.