Callide repair effort staggers towards finish line

The Callide C Power Station joint venture (JV) has set back the date it will start bringing Unit C4 back online by another three weeks. CS Energy chief executive officer Darren Busine said the change in date was to account for the availability of specialists and to allow extra time for testing and managing emergent work during the recommissioning of the unit. The generator's partial return to service date has been shifted from June 30 to July 22, but the date for the unit reaching full capacity remains at July 31. Callide Unit C4 is still being repaired after an explosion in May 2021 that left almost half a million people without power. CS Energy has also been rebuilding the C3 and C4 cooling towers at the plant, outside Biloela, following the structural failure of a section of the Unit C3 cooling tower in late 2022. “We are being extra diligent and taking all necessary precautions in returning C4 to service – the safety of our people and plant is our priority,” Mr Busine said. “The change in C4’s return to service date is unrelated to the rebuild of its new cooling tower, which remains on schedule. “However, the work happening in parallel to recommission Unit C4 has been impacted by the availability of overseas-based specialists needed to perform critical work, and additional work that has emerged during the recommissioning process. A rebuild of the cooling towers is underway. “We will return the unit in a staged manner, bringing it online at partial capacity on 22 July and then carry out further testing before gradually returning it to full capacity.” Mr Busine said the project to re-construct Callide C’s cooling towers and reinstate its two units had been one of the most complex of its kind undertaken in this country in the past 20 years. “The team at Callide has been put in an extraordinary effort to safely manage a technically and logistically challenging project.” Callide Power Station is comprised of two power plants, Callide B and C, each with two generating units (B1 and B2, C3 and C4). Three of Callide’s four generating units are operational – units B1, B2 and C3 are all generating electricity. Unit C3 was returned to service on April 1 and reached full capacity on April 16. Image at top of page: The damaged C4 generating unit immediately after the 2021 explosion. You may also like: https://industryqld.com.au/callide-nuclear-plan-a-boon-for-region-says-boyce

Callide repair effort staggers towards finish line

Industry Queensland

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