New Pinjarra cogeneration facility to benefit environment and economy

21/04/06
Energy Minister Francis Logan today launched the first of Alinta's cogeneration units at Alcoa's Pinjarra refinery.
The commissioning of the cogeneration unit, generating 140MW, was the result of a successful alliance with Alcoa to transform waste heat into environmental and economic gain.
"The cogeneration of electricity for export into the grid and steam for Alcoa's alumina refining process delivers efficiently generated power," Mr Logan said.
"Cogeneration produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions than generating electricity and steam separately and transforms waste heat into a valuable energy generation resource."
The Alinta cogeneration uses the waste heat from an open-cycle gas turbine to produce electricity for export to the South-West Interconnected System and steam which will be used by Alcoa in alumina processing.
Mr Logan said the emergence of Alinta as a strong competitor in both the generation and retailing of electricity was excellent news for the Western Australian energy sector.
"The benefits of the Government's electricity reforms are already being realised, with Alinta winning customers by offering clean competitively priced power," he said.
"The investor confidence demonstrated by companies such as Alinta shows that the Government's reforms of the electricity industry are hitting the mark, creating a future of competitively priced reliable power for Western Australians."
Alinta's plans for a second unit at Pinjarra and two additional units at Wagerup will enable more customers to benefit from the competitive energy industry environment that the Government has created.
Minister's office: 9222 8950