According to the company, the decision to close the power station was made as it is no longer economically viable to operate. Commissioned in 1971, the plant will be closed with units B4 and B2 to be placed in storage in May and June 2010, followed by B1 in April 2011 and B3 in April 2012.
David Brown, chief executive of CS Energy, said: “Swanbank B is nearly 40-years-old and in its day, the station used cutting-edge technology and coal was available right next door – this is no longer the case.
“Over the past few decades, Swanbank B has been a reliable performer generating electricity for Queensland, but the reality is, we haven’t regularly operated the station at full load for some time, due to its high operating costs and the generation capability of newer, cleaner power stations.”
The closure of Swanbank B will not impact Queensland’s electricity supply as the nearby 385MW Swanbank E gas-fired power station, commissioned in 2002, will continue operation, the company said.
