Colongra Power Station facts for kids

The Colongra Gas Generation Plant is a large power station in New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as the Colongra Power Station. This plant makes electricity using natural gas. It can produce 667 MW of power. This makes it the biggest gas-fired power station in New South Wales.

Power stations like Colongra are very important. They help make sure homes and businesses have enough electricity. Colongra is often used when many people need power at the same time. This is called "peak demand."

What is the Colongra Power Station?

The Colongra Power Station is a special kind of power plant. It uses natural gas to create electricity. When natural gas burns, it heats up air. This hot air spins large turbines, which are like big fans. The spinning turbines then power generators that make electricity.

This power station is designed to start up quickly. This is why it's great for peak demand times. For example, on a very hot day, lots of people use air conditioning. This means more electricity is needed. Colongra can quickly provide that extra power.

Building the Power Plant

The construction of the Colongra Power Station began in October 2007. A company called Alstom was in charge of building it. The plant was built next to another power station. This was the Munmorah Power Station, which used coal.

Building Colongra took about two years. It was finished and started making power in December 2009. The whole project cost about A$500 million. That's a lot of money!

Who Runs Colongra?

When the Colongra Power Station first opened, it had a different owner. But in January 2015, a company called Snowy Hydro bought the plant. Snowy Hydro is a major electricity producer in Australia. They own and operate many power stations.