Our team at the Hunter Power Project (HPP) is full steam ahead with construction ramping up across the whole site in Loxford, NSW. Of all plant, the main attraction, and stars of the show, are the two gas fired turbines.
There are several reasons for this special attention. For starters, it is the first time ever in Australia that gas fired turbines for a power station are being reassembled on site from the ground up. These turbines are also the largest in Australia being put together this way.
Approximately one million parts per turbine are being reassembled with high precision and a fine tolerance of 0.02mm, which is the smallest dimension that the human eye can resolve. All of this is happening under domes that protect the parts from elements and contamination.
Recently, the turbines’ assembly reached a major milestone with the lift and installation of one of the rotors. This ~100-tonne piece of equipment and its 1,522 blades came straight from Japan and had to fit its casing with the perfect clearance to ensure the turbine’s function and efficiency.
Each turbine will weigh around 415 tonnes when completely assembled, and their rotors will spin at an approximate rate of 3,000 RPM, or 50 times per second – too fast for the human eye to discern. This will produce 330 MW of power per turbine, or more than 400 times the power output of a Boeing 747 aircraft engine.
There are several reasons for this special attention. For starters, it is the first time ever in Australia that gas fired turbines for a power station are being reassembled on site from the ground up. These turbines are also the largest in Australia being put together this way.
Approximately one million parts per turbine are being reassembled with high precision and a fine tolerance of 0.02mm, which is the smallest dimension that the human eye can resolve. All of this is happening under domes that protect the parts from elements and contamination.
Recently, the turbines’ assembly reached a major milestone with the lift and installation of one of the rotors. This ~100-tonne piece of equipment and its 1,522 blades came straight from Japan and had to fit its casing with the perfect clearance to ensure the turbine’s function and efficiency.
Each turbine will weigh around 415 tonnes when completely assembled, and their rotors will spin at an approximate rate of 3,000 RPM, or 50 times per second – too fast for the human eye to discern. This will produce 330 MW of power per turbine, or more than 400 times the power output of a Boeing 747 aircraft engine.