Overview
We employ approximately 70 people. During the 2008-2009 year we completed the construction of two LNG fuelled mine power stations located at Anglo Gold Ashanti Australia’s Sunrise Dam gold mine and Barrick Gold’s Darlot gold mine. At both of these sites, a majority of the power is now produced from LNG instead of diesel. The development of these power stations has led to a 12,684 tonnes CO2e reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Year in Review
We achieved a significant reduction in our GHG emissions this year, measured as a total, or as emissions per unit of power generated.
This reduction was largely due to the:
- The conversion of the Sunrise Dam and Darlot power stations from diesel to predominantly LNG, representing a saving of 12,684 tonnes of CO2e;
- Suspension of operations at the Hill 60 power station;
- End of operations at the Bronzewing power station; and
- Reduced loads at the Wodgina power station.
During the year we worked on improving
a number of people aspects in our business including:
- The recruitment of new staff and the ongoing review and development of HSE within the business;
- A significant increase in the training of our staff;
- The commencement of a roll-out of a
- new corporate image; and
- The direct engagement of indigenous personnel at some of our Aboriginal Remote Community power stations.
Wesfarmers Energy conducted its inaugural Working with Diversity forum at which two enGen employees presented. It focused on the challenge of working with remote Indigenous communities and overcoming the career issues faced by women.
The most significant contribution to a reduction in our environmental footprint this year has been through the replacement of diesel fuelled generation with LNG fuelled alternatives. This reduction is brought about not only because of the lower GHG footprint of LNG but also the installation of modern high-efficiency generating equipment. Other areas in which we reduced our environmental footprint include:
- The recycling of redundant and obsolete IT equipment;
- The more frequent removal of waste oil from our power stations which was originally stored on-site for extended periods; and
- The ongoing use of municipal recycling services where possible.
We are also continuing to work with the District Council of Coober Pedy and the South Australian Government to develop a solar power station in the town of Coober Pedy which would further reduce our environmental footprint.
Carbon
Our total greenhouse gas emissions were estimated to be 250,822 tonnes of CO2e. This is a reduction of over 16 per cent on last year, largely due to the suspension of operations at the Hill 60 and Bronzewing power stations and the reduction in demand at the Wodgina power station.
Energy
Our main energy use during the year related primarily to the consumption of liquid fuel (diesel), natural gas and liquefied natural gas used in our core business of electricity generation.
Total energy consumption was 3,914,387 gigajoules, a reduction of 10 per cent on last year.
This energy use is broken down into
- Diesel fuel 1,343,258 GJ (34.3%)
- Natural gas 2,567,512 GJ (65.7%)
- Electricity 705 GJ
Our biggest improvement to energy efficiency this year was the installation of the LNG power station at the Darlot gold mine. We continue to work with our customers to identify other energy efficiency opportunities.
Of our sixteen power stations, twelve were required to be licensed for the storage of dangerous goods. Licenses are in place, and we are not aware of any non-compliance or potential non-compliance during the year with licensing or approval conditions. Changes in Dangerous Goods legislation has reduced the numbers of licenses required.
We also hold one pipeline license for natural gas delivered to the Leonora power station, and hold a South Australian EPA license for our Coober Pedy site.
Community support
We continued to support the communities in which we operate including consultation while constructing new projects, ongoing consultations and selected event sponsorship.
Economic investment
The finalisation of the Sunrise Dam and Darlot power stations represented the majority of new economic investment we completed during the year.
2010 Priorities
- Maintain safety performance at, or better than, 2009 levels.
- Improve HSE measurement with introduction of lead indicators.
- Continue to explore energy efficiency opportunities.
- Increase the reliability of our power stations.
- Supply quality products and services to our customers safely and with minimal environmental impact.
- Development of our people.
- Operate our facilities with high standards of process safety.