Veolia Australia and New Zealand (VANZ ), through Veolia Water Australia, has been selected by Springvale Joint Venture and EnergyAustralia to deliver the new Springvale Mount Piper Power Station Water Treatment Plant (Springvale WTP).
The Springvale WTP will be built under a Design, Build, Own, Operate and Transfer contract and following the construction, VANZ will be responsible for the operations and ongoing maintenance of the pipeline and treatment facility, over a 15 year period. The project is being funded by a partnership with Australian based infrastructure fund manager Infrastructure Capital Group.
Located in Lithgow, New South Wales, the Springvale Mine produces the coal used by the nearby Mount Piper Power Station. The Mount Piper Power Station provides approximately 15% of New South Wales’ power. This facility will treat the mine water and deliver water to the power station for beneficial reuse. By delivering the Springvale WTP, Veolia will ensure environmental and operational compliance in relation to water outflows and most importantly, enable continued operations of both the mine and the power station.
There are three main deliverables for this project, which include the construction of a 16 km water pipeline connecting the two sites, the treatment and reuse of the mine water and lastly, the implementation of a of a brine treatment eliminating liquid discharge.
“Veolia’s expertise in water treatment as well as our strong presence in mining and infrastructure has given both the Springvale Joint Venture and EnergyAustralia the confidence to award this 15-year water infrastructure contract to Veolia, which is so important to NSW’s power supply and provides an environmental outcome that can guarantee the mine’s future,” commented Doug Dean, Managing Director of Veolia Australia and New Zealand. “This contract confirms the added-value solutions and expertise that our Group provides to its energy and mining clients, so that their processes can both comply with industry and regulatory standards and improve the efficiency of their operations.”
While preliminary activities have already commenced, this contract now allows construction of the Springvale WTP to proceed immediately which is scheduled to be completed by mid-2019. The contract is projected to generate a number of jobs in the region and approximately 400 million AUD in revenue for VANZ over the coming 17 years.
In Australia and New Zealand, VANZ has more than 40 years’ experience in water, waste and energy management. It is the only integrated environmental and resource recovery solutions provider working across Industrial, Commercial and Municipal sectors. With approximately 4,000 employees, VANZ operates 123 water and wastewater treatment plants across the region and over 240 waste management, resource recovery and industrial cleaning sites. It serves over 65,000 customers and also has a broad portfolio of mining clients, including BHP Billiton and Tomago Aluminium. This contract confirms Veolia’s leading expertise in in mine water reuse to produce high quality industrial water and VANZ’s capacity to attract new clients in its key fields of development.